It seems as if Newcastle have slipped behind Leicester in the race for Boubakary Soumare.
The Daily Mail report that the Foxes have opened talks with Lille over the midfielder.
He could make a £21 million move in the summer, and there is a growing list of Premier League clubs keen on him.
Everton and Leeds are also sniffing around the midfielder, who is helping Lille launch an unlikely Ligue 1 title bid.
It seems like Leicester are looking to steal a march in the chase for the midfielder.
Lille’s squad may well get picked off whether or not they lift the title, which is the way of modern football these days.
Leicester are the only side in the race who have a chance of qualifying for the Champions League.
That said, Newcastle put a huge dent in those ambitions on Friday night when they won 4-2 at the King Power Stadium.
In January 2020, BBC reported that Newcastle failed with a £35 million bid for Soumare.
It seems the asking price has come down since then. French football has been rocked by the collapse of the television rights deal.
Will Newcastle muscle in on the race this summer? It seems they’ll need to be efficient and organised because Leicester are already on the scene.
The Foxes are one of the best-run clubs in the top flight and run a slick recruitment operation. If they get into the Champions League, they’ll be hard to beat in the race for Soumare.
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