Newcastle United have signed five players since that Saudi Arabian takeover. But it’s fair to say we haven’t really seen the extent of their new-found pulling power.
Dan Burn was a boyhood Newcastle fan, after all, and probably would have moved heaven and earth to return home even if Mike Ashley was still sitting atop his ivory tower. Chris Wood had a release clause, meaning Burnley could do nothing to prevent his departure.
Aston Villa were happy to farm Matt Targett out on loan. And Atletico Madrid didn’t put up much of a fight for Kieran Trippier, with just one year left on the Englishman’s contract.
The masterful Bruno Guimaraes, of course, is a slightly different story. But, contrary to popular belief, Arsenal never really firmed up their interest. And while Juventus made ‘some contact’, Newcastle found themselves with a relatively clear run at the £33 million Brazil international.
Newcastle United want Jules Kounde
Jules Kounde, however, feels like something different. Something altogether bigger. Something highly ambitious.
There is no black-and-white blood flowing through his veins, his contract still has years left to run and, most crucially, almost every European giant worth their salt have taken a keen interest in one of the planet’s finest centre-halves. A France international with a Europa League winners’ medal decorating his CV. The finished article at the age of 23.
“Yes, he has quality and he can play for great European clubs,” Sevilla team-mate Diego Carlos tells the Daily Mail.
“He is a young player who can still improve over time. He has got great qualities, he is very strong and I am sure he can play for a big club as a great defender.”
According to Mundo Deportivo, Kounde is Barcelona’s number one centre-back target heading into the summer. Sevilla turned down a ‘magnificent’ offer from Manchester City in 2021, the former Bordeaux youngster confirming that he held talks with Pep Guardiola.
Chelsea also failed with a big-money bid of their own, one in the region of 50 million euros.
Mundo Deportivo, however, believe that the biggest offer came not from the Etihad Stadium or Stamford Bridge, but from St James’ Park. Nouveau-riche Newcastle put £60 million on the table – a fee that would have made Kounde their new record signing – before Sevilla slammed the summers, in the midst of a La Liga title battle.
But, as we enter t-shirt weather, as the grey gives way to blue, the Andalusians may be for turning.
‘Everyone is for sale’
“Kounde? Everyone is for sale at Sevilla,” admits president Jose Castro, speaking to Tuttomercatoweb. “We analyse every offer that comes to us, but it always depends on how much.
“In the case of Kounde, we have already received a very succulent offer but we decided it wasn’t enough to let him go.”
13 months ago, The Mail reported that Newcastle had submitted a £1.5 million bid for Wolves’ Dion Sanderson. And while it may seem unfair to compare the two players, you might be surprised to learn that Sanderson is only a couple of months Kounde’s junior.
If targeting Sanderson, a player then plying his trade on loan in England’s third tier, was indicative of the penny-pinching, low-ambition days of the Ashley reign, then Kounde – one of the planet’s very best, most coveted centre-halves – feels like a potential posterboy for a shiny new era at St James’ Park.
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