St.James’ Park witnessed the start that all Newcastle fans would have hoped for after Eddie Howe’s Magpies dispatched promoted outfit Nottingham Forest 2-0 at the weekend, in a 2022-23 season where the club will hope to begin pushing for an outside chance at a top-seven finish come seasons end.
The PIF-owned outfit has done well to supply Howe with valuable reinforcements since their successful takeover last year, having already spent £140m between the January window and the current summer transfer period.
But Newcastle is hardly finished trying to add quality to the senior setup on Tyneside this summer and is reportedly set to push their way back to France for two more additions in the vein of Olympique Lyonnais star midfielder Lucas Paqueta and Olympique de Marseille youngster Bamba Dieng according to 90min transfer correspondent Graeme Bailey.
Newcastle are ready to push ahead with moves for Marseille’s Bamba Dieng and Lyon’s Lucas Paqueta.
The prices for both players fit well into Newcastle’s budget and they are have both been on the club’s radar since the turn of the year.@90min_Football https://t.co/ByHKcoHg4t
— Graeme Bailey (@GraemeBailey) August 9, 2022
Despite the successful conversion of Joelinton into a central midfielder and the influential presence of Bruno Guiimarães growing by the week, Newcastle still lacks general overall quality in the center of the park, with the injury suffered to Jonjo Shelvey adding to possible concerns in midfield.
As such, a move for Lucas Paqueta makes complete sense for Newcastle especially after his first reported £50m asking price has now been knocked down to a possible deal that could be somewhere in the region of £33m with add-ons.
The addition of Paqueta would add an already tired-and-tested partnership with Guimarães after the pair starred together in the Rhône valley with OL, which would undoubtedly make his adaptation to Premier League football easier.
The Magpies have been adamant in their desire to add another forward to their ranks under Eddie Howe, with attempts at a cadre of players the likes of Moussa Diaby, Callum Hudson-Odoi, James Maddison, and Jack Harrison, while also missing out on French starlet Hugo Ekitike who eventually moved to Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite Dieng performing well for OM last term after bagging 7 goals and adding 3 assists in 25 appearances in Ligue 1 last term, new boss Igor Tudor has said that he is now surplus to requirements at Stade Vélodrome and could be available for as low as £15m.
A combined deal for both would see the club to over £100m this summer after spending the same during the January window last season, showing real intent by the club’s owners to get Newcastle on the right road as quickly as possible.
