Today was quite an exciting day for the Geordie faithful as news broke that Newcastle United were to break their transfer record and bid €25million for Alexandre Lacazette of Olympique Lyonnais.
The French forward, who was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford in the summer, would be an instant fan favourite should Lee Charnley pull this one off. He has suffered quite a dip in form this season, which is probably why Charnley believes Newcastle stand a chance, but he has scored 77 times and assisted 34 in 208 appearances since graduating from Lyon’s academy.
French news outlet L’Equipe [translated by GFFN] were first to break the story, stating that Newcastle United had tabled a €25million bid (equivalent to £19million when converted to sterling), but Lyon were likely to hold out for £23million.
So Foot and the reliable RMC Sport also followed up their claims, also stating that Lyon were yet to respond to Newcastle’s offer.
Several hours after the initial story broke, BeIN Sport journalist Julien Chaput broke the news that Newcastle had a €30million bid accepted, but Lacazette was unwilling to enter negotiations with the Magpies.
It seems Julien may have jumped the gun on this one, as none of the other French news outlets backed up his claims.
Contrary to the French reports, sources on Tyneside have told Sky Sports that they are ‘mystified’ by the claims and state Newcastle have not bid for Lacazette. Sky did, however, state that the 24-year-old is on the Magpies’ radar and “it would be no surprise if there has been enquiries.”
Does Sky Sports denying reports of the foreign media mean the move is dead? Definitely not. They have rightfully earned themselves a reputation of being reliable, though this does not mean they are always first to the news – especially when Newcastle are trying to keep the deal under wraps. The situation was remarkably similar when the club were pursuing Florian Thauvin and Anderlecht duo Aleksandar Mitrovic & Chancel Mbemba.
The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder was one of the first to acknowledge this, stating: “Newcastle are trying to get deals done under the radar but very difficult to do that in Europe.”
It certainly seems there was some truth behind the rumours leaked by L’Equipe earlier today, but Newcastle are still a long way from completing a deal for the Frenchman. Lacazette is likely to still need convincing.