Newcastle and Leeds target Azzedine Ounahi has now been the subject of a bid from the Premier League.
What’s the story?
Well, it was 90min who revealed that Newcastle want to sign the Morocco international.
Elsewhere, it was Roma Live in Italy who claimed that Leeds want Ounahi at Elland Road.
However, it is Leicester who have made the first move.
L’Equipe in France believe the Foxes have submitted a €20m (£18m) bid to sign Ounahi from Angers SCO, with an additional €10m (£9m) in add-ons should they qualify for the Champions League.
Leicester may as well have just offered the £18m – with all due respect, they find themselves 13th in the Premier League at the time of writing, and seemingly have no chance of making the top four.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how Angers SCO respond, and whether the bid forces Newcastle or Leeds to get involved.
FC Inter News have previously claimed that the Ligue 1 side want £40m for the 22-year-old after he emerged as the breakout star of the 2022 World Cup.
Ounahi made seven appearances in Qatar as Morocco became the first African side in history to reach the World Cup semi-finals, with the attacking midfielder catching the attention of millions after some superb performances.
Leeds should leave Ounahi to Newcastle
In our view, Leeds should not join Leicester in bidding for Ounahi – Jesse Marsch should leave the Moroccan for Brendan Rodgers and Eddie Howe to fight over.
Leeds simply have to sign a new centre-forward this month with Patrick Bamford still yet to return from injury, while Rodrigo is not the out-and-out No.9 Marsch needs to hold the ball up.
The American could also do with another left-back as Pascal Struijk continues to cover for Junior Firpo in that area.
If Leeds sign Ounahi – an attacking midfielder – before addressing these two issues, it would be a very strange move.
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