Director confirms free agent decision amid Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan interest

Borussia Monchengladbach are resigned to losing reported Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur target Marcus Thuram this summer.

The future of the France international has been the subject of intense speculation after the ventured into the final six months of his current deal with the Bundesliga club with no sign of an extension being agreed. Clubs in Spain, Germany, England and Italy have all been linked with a move for the World Cup winner and their hopes have been raised after Monchengladbach’s sporting director Roland Virkus confirmed a decision had been made on his future.

“We’ve decided to allow Thuram to leave,” Virkus told German television station Sport1.

“The fact that he plans to leave on a free transfer is not a positive situation. I can’t sugarcoat it. We stretched ourselves with Marcus Thuram. We have to accept that there are bigger clubs Marcus might move to.”

The news comes just months after Magpies star Allan Saint-Maximin revealed he had spoken Thuram about a potential move to St James Park at the end of the season. Speaking during the World Cup, the French winger said: “Yeah, I will be honest, I have chatted with him. For me, he’s a great player. I’ve known this guy a long time.

“I’ve been playing football with him when I was very young. I know all his family. He has great parents. He’s an incredible guy.”

However, United are not the only club believed to be interested in making a move for Thuram after he kickstarted his season by scoring the decisive goal in Monchengladbach’s 3-2 win over Bayern Munich on Saturday. That took his tally to an impressive 14 goals and four assists in 22 appearances in all competitions so far this season - but it now seems inevitable this will be his last year at the Borussia Park.

The likes of Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool have all been mentioned as possible destinations for the 25-year-old - but Monday brought fresh speculation Serie A giants Inter Milan were ‘ahead’ in the race for his signature after firming up their interest during the World Cup.

CalcioMercato have suggested the San Siro club are ‘closing’ in on an agreement with Thuram as they approach a summer that could include a number of ‘other big deals’.