Newcastle stunned by €70m transfer demands that killed off Atletico and Leipzig interest

Matias Fernandez-Pardo could join Newcastle this summer – but it’s going to take some serious spending.

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There are a number of teams in the Premier League who feel like they’ve been stripped to the bones by outgoing transfers this summer, and while Newcastle aren’t quite in the same bracket as Aston Villa, they’re not far off.

They’ve lost key players including Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, and have struggled to replace them. They did well in their opening day fixture against Liverpool, but know they need more.

Top of their list is midfielder Matias Fernandez-Pardo, but signing him is proving more difficult than thought. The Belgian international midfielder has attracted more more attention from top teams, and looks to be the perfect man to step into a depleted midfield. But he won’t come cheap.

Rising midfield talent wanted by multiple top teams

A report from TeamTalk claims that Lille have turned down an offer for the  21 year old, telling Newcastle (along with Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig) that €40m won’t get them anywhere.

The price is set at €70m, and they won’t even enter into talks below that.

The problem for the Magpies is that Lille know exactly what sort of situation the buyers are in, and the French side can happily just wait this out, knowing that things are likely to get desperate in the final hours of the window.

After last summer’s late chaos which saw Aleksandar Isak sold and Nick Woltemade brought in late for a huge fee, it will be interesting to see where things go from here.