Newcastle United bid £7m for Rennes’ Ligue 1 star Faitout Maouassa last year but is he finally Premier League bound this summer?
Faitout Maouassa is thrilled to learn that he is attracting attention from the Premier League, with Newcastle United again linked with a move for the exciting Rennes full-back, while speaking to Telefoot.
If you ignore Jetro Willems’ short-lived, injury-ruined loan spell in the first half of this season, it is fair to say there has been a paucity of genuine top-level left-backs plying their trade at St James’ Park since Davide Santon’s heyday.
But that could all change if the Magpies spend some of Mohammed Bin Salman’s millions on a rising star of French football.
21-year-old Maouassa was one of the key players for a Rennes side who finished third in the now-cancelled Ligue 1 season and qualified for the Champions League.
With three goals and two assists to his name, the France U21 international showcased his attack-minded side during a fine breakthrough campaign under Julian Stephan with Newcastle apparently interested, according to L’Equipe.
“It is nice. Of course, it is really nice to see that clubs like that are interested in me. It is a real source of joy,” Maouassa says, while pointing out that he is not exactly desperate to make the trip across the Channel this summer.
“But as I have said I feel really good at Rennes. I feel good and I am keeping my feet on the ground.”
L’Equipe reported a year ago that Newcastle had failed with a £7 million bid for Maouassa and, though his value will have risen after an impressive season in Brittany, he would still not take a sizeable chunk out of Newcastle’s budget.
After all, with his contract due to expire in 2021, Rennes may be forced to accept a cut-price bid for one of their star players in these testing financial terms.
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