Newcastle United ‘keen’ on £43m French defender after Southampton reject Livramento bid

It’s almost the end of July which means that there is now only two weeks until the 2023/24 Premier League season begins and just over one month before the summer transfer window shuts.

Newcastle United have already done some major business in this window and there could yet be a few more arrivals at St James’ Park. With Allan Saint-Maximin having said his goodbyes and heading to Saudi Arabia to complete a £30 million move to Al-Ahli, there should be more flexibility in the club’s budget for Eddie Howe to keep making moves.

It looks like a defender could be the target and Southampton’s Tino Livramento looks like the man that the Magpies are most keen on. However, Caught Offside have reported that the North East club’s recent bid of £30 million for the former Chelsea youth star has been rejected.

It is claimed that the Championship side want an extra £10 million on top that number before agreeing to let the 20-year old leave, for a total transfer fee of £40 million. It remains to be seen if Newcastle will return to the negotiating table but they could very well look at alternative targets and are now being linked with another defender.

A separate report, also from Caught Offside, claims that Newcastle have been in contact with French Ligue 1 side OGC Nice about over 23-year old defender Jean-Clair Todibo ‘in recent months’. The France youth international signed for the Ligue 1 club in 2021 have previously been with Barcelona where he spent time out on loan at the likes of Benfica and Schalke 04.

Fellow Premier League sides West Ham United and Aston Villa are also credited with having been in contact over Todibo as have PSG and Napoli. The player is under contract until 2027 and is said to be targeting a call up to the France senior men’s squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals next summer.