'In touch' - Agent confirms 2023 Newcastle United talks with Champions League sensation

There was a time when Desire Doue, one of the most talked-about footballers on the planet right now, was linked with Newcastle United.

The Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder grabbed world headlines on Wednesday night after his stunning strike helped the French giants to a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Trailing 1-0 at the Parce des Princes through Morgan Rogers’ opener, Doue cut inside on the left before superbly firing his right-footed shot into the roof of the net past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Further goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes in the second half then put PSG well in command ahead of the return leg at Villa Park.

Newcastle United showed interest in Desire Doue

That was Doue’s 12th goal for PSG since joining from Stade Rennais for £43million last summer. Rewind a year earlier and Doue’s agent at the time, former Manchester United and Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre, revealed that Newcastle had been in contact.

Doue had just broken into Rennes’ first-team and become the first player born in 2005 to score in any of the five major European leagues.

"I know Newcastle came to watch him and were in touch with us," Silvestre told the iPaper. “Like a lot of clubs in Europe when they scout, they come and try and speak to the entourage and get a feeling and try to understand what the situation is.

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“It's not necessarily about the contractual situation but also what's going on in the life of the player as much as possible before they make a move.

“It was his breakthrough season, a big season for him. He [was] only 17 and did it going through the Baccalaureat [French academic qualification]. Unlike other players he had to wake up early in the morning to go to school and he managed that well.

“He’s a talented player and attracted big teams from all over Europe but no decision has been made on him. He has exams on 20 June, it’s strange but that’s the life of a 17- or 18-year-old.”

The Magpies were again linked with the 19-year-old last January when L’Equipe reported that they and Borussia Dortmund were set to submit a bid. As it happens, nothing materialised and we’ll probably never know how close United came to making an offer.

However, it is another feather in Newcastle’s recruitment team’s cap. Similar to Doue, United identified another French talent in Hugo Ekitike but failed to tempt him to Tyneside, despite having two bids accepted.

Ekitike joined PSG instead and while it didn’t quite work out for him in Paris, he is currently flourishing for German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt.

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