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Sevilla chief Monchi has confirmed Newcastle United made a ‘very strong’ bid to sign Diego Carlos but didn’t match their demands for the Brazilian.

Newcastle targeted a new centre-back throughout the January transfer window after Eddie Howe identified that as an area of his team in need of reinforcement.

They eventually settled on a £13m deal for Brighton’s Dan Burn, but that deal was secured after a month of them being linked with defenders all around Europe.

The one most linked was Diego Carlos, with Newcastle holding extensive talks with Sevilla to try and make a deal happen.

At one point, they appeared to be close to getting their man after agreeing terms with the player, who subsequently made it clear to Sevilla that he wanted to leave.

The Spanish club did not budge from their demands that Newcastle pay Carlos’ release clause, which is believed to be in the €70m region.

The Magpies never did that, and so the player has ended up staying in Spain, with Monchi admitting that it’s been a tough time for him mentally.

“Newcastle’s effort for Diego Carlos has been very strong,” La Colina de Nervion report him saying.

“They really went for it, but the club had an idea, a scenario, and they didn’t budge from that.

“Their offer was important, respectful, and even Diego has had his mental comings and goings, but he has ended up satisfied.”