Lyon’s Jason Denayer has emerged as a target for Newcastle United, according to claims coming out of Belgium.
The defender joined Lyon from Manchester City in 2018 and now has less than six months left on his contract.
Jean-Michel Aulas, the Ligue 1 side’s president, has already explained his side have offered the 26-year-old a new deal and it’s now down to him to make a decision on his future.
Het Nieuwsblad state Aulas ‘is doing a disservice to the truth’, since the French club made a renewal offer to the centre-back only in January.
The ‘timing was unfortunate’ since the player was recovering from an ankle injury and his focus was on regaining full fitness. Meanwhile, he has also attracted attention from other clubs.
When discussing suitors, the Tyneside club are mentioned in the report. It’s claimed Eddie Howe’s side, Barcelona, Juventus and Napoli have ‘gathered information’, so made contact, about the former City man, which seems hugely fortunate for the player.
A few months ago, Denayer was thinking of staying at Lyon, but now, he is ‘not in a hurry’ to make a decision on where he will play next season. With the likes of Newcastle and others in the picture to sign the Belgium international, he will be ‘spoiled for choice’.
‘In the worst case’, Het Nieuwsblad explain Denayer has the option to continue with the French club. This would suggest it is not his priority to stay at Lyon.
This all feels like a fishing expedition, with Newcastle and others being used to encourage Lyon into offering a better renewal proposal.
