Despite being one of Oscar Garcia’s key cogs at Saint-Etienne so far this season, Jonathan Bamba and his representatives are making things very difficult for the Ligue 1 club.
With a contract running out next summer, the France U21 starlet is fully aware he’ll have many suitors come January, and unless Saint-Etienne cough up what he wants, he is likely to look elsewhere, like the Premier League.
Newcastle United were one of the many clubs linked with the 20-year-old over the summer, and you can bet that if the opportunity to sign him without a transfer fee appears, they’ll be there in the long queue.
According to L’Equipe, talks for a new deal are yet to take off again, having come to a standstill back in July, and that could be great news for Rafa Benitez.
Bamba is said to be asking for around €150k/month, a wage he knows he’ll be able to get in England, and one Newcastle United could easily afford, while Saint-Etienne are only prepared to offer around a fifth of that due to their wage restrictions.
Furthermore, if someone were to want to buy him in January, six months ahead of him being available on a free, the French newspaper claim the Ligue 1 side value him somewhere in between €5-8m.
If Newcastle are still interested, and, taking into account his early season form, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be, it will all come down to how much they need him at the time.
Give him the money and wait for him arrive in the summer or pay up the €5-8m and allow him to get used to the Premier League during the second half of the season?
