Are Newcastle about to re-enter the French market?

As the transfer window continues to progress, so does the amount of players who Newcastle United keep on being linked with. Today it would appear as though an old flame has been reignited as Newcastle appear to have rekindled their love with theFrenchh market.

Early on in the year, during the January transfer window, it was reported that Newcastle had an interest in young Ivorian forward Nicolas Pepe who currently plays for French side Angers SCO. As you would expect this interest was again circled in the media come the start of the summer transfer window, however, it would now appear that the 21-year-old will opt for a move to Lille although Newcastle did reportedly make a £8.5 million bid for the player.

It would also appear as though United are poised to make a move for Lyon’s 28-year-old  defensive midfielder Maxime Gonalons. French publication L’Equipe are reporting that Newcastle have “positioned themselves” to bring the Frenchman to St James’ Park for a fee believed to be in the region of around £5 million.

This for a player who has played nearly 250 games for Lyon and has been awarded eight caps for the French national team. Gonalons would be an excellent piece of business for Rafa Benitez as he looks to strengthen his side for when Tottenham come to St James Park on 12 August looking for revenge after the 5-1 embarrassment that Mauricio Pochettino’s men suffered last time they visited St James’.

Another report coming from France, this time from French media outlet Foot Mercato is that Newcastle have shown interest in Valencia defender Aymen Abdennour. The Magpies are said to be among those who are chasing the Tunisian’s signature along with Everton. However, Foot Mercato claim that Newcastle have made their intentions known to th27-year-oldsds representatives.

It is reported that Valencia want £15 million for a player who although in his prime. is yet to prove himself as shown by Gary Neville’s stint at Valencia and the fact that Valencia currently sits 12th in La Liga which is seen as a massive under-performance. Other news outlets in France have reported that Abdennour will opt to sign for Olympique Marseille rather than the Magpies.

The likes of Marcus Coco, Yann Karamoh and Jonathan Bamba have also been touted with making a switch to Tyneside. Each of those players are fast, powerful French wingers so could we see Newcastle have another crack at the French market this summer?