Newcastle United were one of the clubs to have shown interest in Niklas Süle before he agreed to join Borussia Dortmund after this season.
The defender has less than six months left on his current deal with Bayern Munich, who were finding it hard to find an agreement over a new deal.
On January 14th, reports from the German press indicated the Magpies were ready to meet the 26-year-old’s salary demands immediately. Later that month, Bild and TZ explained Eddie Howe’s side held an interest in the centre-back, but must first convince him of the transfer.
Former Bayern star Lothar Matthäus is of the belief money was not the motive behind the Germany international’s decision to join Dortmund. To explain his point, the 60-year-old has used the efforts made by Newcastle as an example.
“It is not about money. Otherwise, he would have gone to England. He had had an offer from Newcastle United, where he would have earned twice as much,” Matthäus told Sky Deutschland.
“He is looking for a sporting challenge. And at Bayern he no longer felt valued. In recent years, Süle has often been attacked because of his weight and no one has protected him.”
“During his long injury break, he sacrificed himself for the club. He won the Champions League and played great games. The club didn’t get enough. And I know THAT is the reason why Süle said to his team of advisors, ‘we don’t need to talk to Bayern any more. I want to go’.”
