Newcastle United could blow Italian giants AC Milan out of the water in the race to sign £16 million Romain Faivre, with Calciomercato highlighting the funds available to the Premier League strugglers.
When it comes to signing highly-rated play-makers from French football, it is fair to say the Magpies have a rather ‘mixed’ track record.
For every Allan Saint-Maximin, there is a Remy Cabella or a tuxedo-donning Florian Thauvin.
So the jury will be out on Faivre, a 23-year-old former France U21 international who has blossomed into one of the most exciting up-and-coming forwards in the self-proclaimed ‘League of Talents’.
Pulling the strings from his favoured number ten role, the left-footed Faivre has three goals and four assists to his name already this season – a tally that looks even more impressive when you consider his Stade Brest side are yet to win a single game in Ligue 1.
Brest pulled off something of a minor miracle while hanging onto Faivre over the summer – he was linked with Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds and even Manchester United.
But, with Les Pirates stuck in the choppy waters and with the threat of walking the plank hanging over them, retaining Faivre beyond another transfer window could prove to be all-but impossible.
Could Newcastle sign Romain Faivre in January?
According to Calciomercato, AC Milan have been tracking the former Monaco youngster for months.
The problem is, Milan are now facing competition from the so-called ‘Richest Club in World Football’ – Newcastle United.
A more ethereal creative presence than rampaging Saint-Maximin, the forceful Joe Willock and the speedy Miguel Almiron, Faivre’s balletic dribbling and trademark turn of pace would fit in neatly at a Newcastle side arguably at their most effective on the counter-attack.
It is understood that Brest will demand a fee in the region of £16 million, with Newcastle now boasting the sort of financial muscle AC Milan – Serie A leaders or not – just cannot match.
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