Newcastle to make ‘concrete offer’ for injured Prem defender
Newcastle United are prepared to make a move for Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana in the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The France under-21 international impressed on his debut season for the Foxes, making 38 appearances in all competitions as they won the FA Cup and finished fifth in the Premier League.
Unfortunately his preparations for this season took a bad turn as he fractured his fibula and damaged his ankle ligaments during a 3-2 friendly victory over Spanish side Villarreal in August.
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Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that Fofana will be missing until at least the New Year as he attempts to recover from his serious injury.
But that won’t stop Newcastle from making an offer for him, according to RMC Sport, who claim the Magpies have ‘come into contact with the entourage of’ Fofana.
It is understood that Fofana was ‘courted’ by Real Madrid in the summer and is now a ‘priority track’ for the new owners at Newcastle.
It is understood the Saudi-backed consortium have told Leicester that ‘a concrete offer’ could be made ‘in the coming weeks’.
The report adds that it’s ‘hoped’ that Fofana can return from injury ‘early next year’ with the next few months ‘likely to be eventful around the defender’.
Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand thinks Newcastle should be targeting Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, West Ham’s Declan Rice and Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard.
“I’d be going to try and make like a mad couple of signings, like huge, that I think would be gettable,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube show Vibe with Five.
“I’d be looking at people like Raheem Sterling. Raheem Sterling’s not playing regularly, I’d go ask him the question. I’d go and ask Declan Rice, ‘What’s going on?’
“Those two would be the first two on my list, and I’d go all out to go and get them. And then I’d be trying to get people like Jesse Lingard, who’s in and around the Man United squad.”
Ferdinand added: “It’s unrealistic until you ask the question. I’d be going out there to get answers from these types of players and then you work your way down your list.
“(Kylian Mbappe) is just dreamland, but there’s people that would be on the periphery of the Man United squad, the Chelsea squad, the City squad. I’d be looking at players like that, I’d be all over those types of players.
“And then I’d be wanting to unearth some young talents probably from around the world that you think would be able to mix and blend in to that.”