Newcastle pushing ahead of other clubs – Magpies make approach, wish to negotiate clause figure down

Portuguese newspaper A Bola today highlights Newcastle United’s chase for Sporting defender Ousmane Diomande.

According to the outlet, the Magpies are pushing ahead of other Premier League sides in the race for the 20-year-old.

Newcastle reportedly made ‘some approaches’ to understand the conditions to sign Diomande, with Sporting demanding the price for his release clause, which stands at €80m.

The Magpies believe that to be too much, and are now hopeful that Lions will accept coming down from that level.

The big problem is that Sporting know there’s big competition for the defender. A Bola points out that the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Juventus have all scouted him.

So it seems that to get a discount, Newcastle would need to wait and see if all those clubs would actually come for his signing in the summer, or do so at approaching €80m. With the Lions keen to make as much money as possible, it’s very likely they’ll be encouraging a little auction.