QPR, Red Bull Salzburg, Genoa and Rennes all had bids accepted for Paul-Georges Ntep this winter – with the latter getting their man.
One of the hottest players on the transfer market last month was Auxerre striker Paul-Georges Ntep. The French under-21 international has been linked heavily with Arsenal and QPR in particular – especially after he posted a picture on his Instagram account of him on the Eurostar heading to London.
Ntep openly courted Arsenal while Arsene Wenger also spoke highly of the talented player – but despite conflicting reports it seems that his visit to London earlier in the month was to meet with officials from QPR over a potential switch.
But the interest did not just come from England – teams from Italy, Germany, Austria and of course France were all said to be keen on his services.
The likes of Saint-Etienne, Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain and Lille were just some of the players being linked with such a move for the talented individual – but in the end he chose to go elsewhere.
He signed for Rennes toward the end of last month – for a fee said to be in the region of €6.5 million.
And now his agent Mario Knez has been speaking about his client’s choice of club – and of those who were said to have made contact over his services.
“The official offers have arrived from Red Bull Salzburg, the Genoa and QPR. All other clubs have spoken directly with the AJ Auxerre but not with us.”
It seems QPR had therefore met the asking price for the player – but found themselves in a four horse race with Ntep as the main prize for the winner.
In the end Stades Rennes won the battle – with the offer too difficult to turn down considering it afforded him the luxury of remaining in France as well as pushing his career in the right direction.
But at least QPR were showing foresight in their attempt to snap up perhaps the best young striker in France right now.
image: © Mypouss
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
