Report: Newcastle United make Badou Ndiaye offer after Stoke City bid

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Could Premier League giants Newcastle United break their transfer record this month after all? Possibly, depending on how much Galatasaray want for Ndiaye.

It would be a little generous to describe Newcastle United’s transfer budget as a ‘warchest’. You could hardly blame Rafa Benitez if he had been scrambling around the back of his sofa for the odd copper coin with owner Mike Ashley reluctant to back his manager in the transfer market once again.

As such, with just over a week of the winter window remaining, Newcastle have not made a single signing with Benitez reportedly unsure of how much money he has to spend, as stated by The Chronicle.

Reports in Turkish publication Aksam claiming that the Magpies have launched a bid of around £16 million to sign Galatasaray midfielder Badou Ndiaye, then, may be taken with a pinch of salt.

Such a fee would equal the price Newcastle paid Real Madrid for Michael Owen all the way back in 2005 – making Ndiaye their joint-record signing. It had seemed very unlikely that the Tyneside giants would make transfer history under Ashley, let alone this month.

But Newcastle have been keen admirers of the Senegalese powerhouse for some time and, according to Sky Sports, were battling West Ham for his signature in the summer before he swapped Osmanlispor for Galatasaray.

Sabah claimed at the weekend that Stoke City had made a £14 million bid for Ndiaye, who established his reputation as a keen goalscoring midfielder with Osmanlispor last season.

There is not a huge amount of depth in Stoke’s midfield and new manager Paul Lambert is keen to put his stamp on the squad.

But with relegation rivals Newcastle dramatically joining the race, it will be interesting to see which side will be more willing to pay big for Ndiaye.