Newcastle United sporting director behind £40m hijack to ‘crush’ Premier League rival

Paul Mitchell is determined to raid Nice for West Ham United target Jean-Clair Todibo, according to reports.

Newcastle United appointed the 42-year-old on July 1 and it has not taken him long to make his mark. Mitchell brought in James Bunce - who he previously worked with at Monaco - as performance analyst to alleviate injury concerns.

Club officials held talks this week about summer recruitment, with Mitchell playing an integral role. The Magpies are understood to be keen on signing a right-sided attacker and a right-sided centre-back.

And fresh reports claim Nice defender Todibo is top of Newcastle’s shopping list. The 24-year-old has two caps for France after impressing in Ligue 1 since arriving three years ago.

Formerly on Barcelona’s books, Todibo - valued at £30million -  has been linked with Manchester United given Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s connections with Nice. But West Ham were reportedly the front-runners until Newcastle interest emerged, with Juventus also interested.

TalkSPORT claim the Magpies have entered the race following Mitchell’s appointment. As an ex-Monaco chief, he would have studied Todibo on his rise to the international setup.

Centre-back is an area Newcastle are looking to strengthen given the long-term injuries to Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman. With Fabian Schar turning 33 in December, a successor who can partner Botman is high on their priorities.

The Magpies have added Lloyd Kelly to their ranks, who can operate at centre-back or left-back. Dan Burn is also a dependable Premier League player but Newcastle are looking to the future - with the Blyth native also on the wrong side of 30.