The Premier League is calling for Lille’s Ligue 1 star Boubakary Soumare – will Steve Bruce belatedly bring the France U21 star to St James’ Park?
Newcastle United have not given up hope of luring Boubakary Soumare to Tyneside with Florian Lejeune and Allan Saint-Maximin keen to work with a fellow Frenchman at St James’ Park, according to The Mail.
News travels fast in football. And when Steve Bruce claimed in January that the Magpies had failed with a club-record bid for a then-unnamed midfielder, it didn’t take long for the mystery man to be unmasked.
It was Soumare of Lille who Newcastle were willing to pay an initial £35 million plus considerable add-ons for.
But the saga is not over just yet, with The Mail reporting that the North East giants are still in talks with their Ligue 1 counterparts over a summer deal that would likely eclipse the one that brought Joelinton to England just last summer.
And Bruce has two Newcastle players fighting his corner.
Paris-born Lejuene and former Monaco star Saint-Maximin tried to convince Soumare to join in January and both players are likely to be bombarding the France U21 star with voicemails and whatsapp messages over the months ahead as the transfer battle hots up.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City are also interested in 21-year-old Soumare, a classy, deep-lying midfielder who loves a tackle. But while they obviously possess a lure and a stature that Newcastle cannot match, Bruce does have another trump card up his sleeve.
Soumare needs regular first-team football to build on his undoubted potential. With that in mind, Newcastle are in a position to promise something that Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City simply cannot.
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