Newcastle United have been heavily linked with Bayern Munich defender Niklas Sule, but they have officially missed out to Borussia Dortmund.
Newcastle have been linked with an outrageous number of potential signings ever since their takeover went through in October.
One of the key names in the mix was Sule, who was allegedly keen on a move to Newcastle back in November.
Sule, 26, has won four Bundesliga titles with Bayern and is on course for a fifth, shining as a defender with a huge presence at 6ft 5in tall.
Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann has suggested that Sule has ‘unbelievable’ qualities as a defender given his athletic and technical ability to go along with his size.
Yet come January, Sule rejected a move to Newcastle as he entered the final six months of his Bayern contract.
Newcastle may have struggled to convince Sule to join right now given that they are far from safe from the Premier League drop zone.
The Magpies could have held out hope of convincing Sule to join on a free transfer this summer if they manage to stay up.
However, their lingering hopes have come to an end today after Sule committed to signing for Borussia Dortmund.
It’s not often you see Dortmund striking pre-contract agreements with Bayern players – it’s usually the other way around!
Yet Dortmund have today confirmed that Sule will join them for nothing this summer, marking a major coup for Marco Rose’s side.
Newcastle now have to go back to the drawing board if they want another centre back signing this summer, with Sule no longer available.
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