Report: Newcastle eye £21.5m titan, but rival suitor wants deal wrapped up this week

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Newcastle United have joined the race to sign Loic Bade this summer, but Stade Rennais are pushing to land the Lens centre-back by the end of the week, according to Foot Mercato.

Bade has already agreed personal terms with Rennes after the Rouge et Noir marked defensive reinforcements as their summer priority. But the Ligue 1 outfit are yet to agree a fee with Lens and are set to hold further negotiations.

Rennes hope to reach an agreement with Lens over Bade’s move by the end of the week as they start to look for further signings. However, the Roazhon Park outfit face significant rival interest, with Newcastle, Brighton, AC Milan and Villarreal keen on the Frenchman.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Leeds United have also previously been credited with an interest in Bade. But any side wishing to sign the 23-year-old faces a €25m (£21.5m) price, per Ouest France, as Le Havre would be owed 20% due to a sell-on clause from his move last year.

Rennes have been unwilling to pay Lens’ asking price as Newcastle target Bade has only completed one Ligue 1 season. But the Estadio Bollaert-Delelis side want him to stay and lead their line next season, hence the hefty valuation.

Bade started 29 of his 31 French top-flight outings for Lens last term, in which they kept six clean sheets. His efforts helped the club finish the campaign in seventh place, a point shy of Rennes and three away from Marseille in the last of the European positions.

Newcastle face uphill battle to sign Lens star Bade

Newcastle would face an uphill battle to sign Bade with Rennes already agreeing personal terms with the Lens star. But Steve Bruce would be wise to do battle as the Havre product showed a lot of promise last term.

Bade proved himself to be a strong leader from the back despite his limited experience. He was also precise with his challenges, on the air and in the ground, and has a solid technical ability. His stock will likely continue to rise with another year of progress under his belt.

Being young with the chance to develop and be sold on for profit also suits Mike Ashley’s criteria. Although it could cost a lot upfront for Newcastle to edge Rennes and their rival suitors to sign Bade.