Newcastle United ‘try their luck’ with £17m-rated Bruno Guimaraes replica

Newcastle United want to replicate the success of Bruno Guimaraes’ move to St James Park by launching another bid for a Ligue 1 star.

Just 12 months have passed since the Brazil international agreed to make a £35m switch to Tyneside after impressing in France’s top tier with Lyon. The 25-year-old midfielder has quickly become a key cog in Eddie Howe’s squad and is already a firm favourite with the St James Park faithful.

Now, French outlet MediaFoot are claiming the Magpies are ready to ‘try their luck’ in Ligue 1 once again by launching a bid for Rennes midfielder Lovro Majer. Once dubbed as the next Luka Modric, the Croatia international has been linked with a move to the Premier League in the recent past after the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool reportedly showed an interest in securing a deal for the 24-year-old.

Majer penned an extension to his current contract at Rennes in October as he committed his future to the club until the summer of 2027. Speaking ahead of that agreement, the midfielder discussed the improvements he wanted to make in his game and his future with the Ligue 1 outfit.

He told SoFoot: “At the moment, everything is fine. I think I’m in a good place. But I know that I can also still improve in several areas. For example, I know that I still have to improve my heading game, even though I have scored three headed goals this season. I know that several things are written about my future. But I am happy in Rennes.”

Despite his apparent happiness with his current club, MediaFoot have Newcastle have identified Majer as a possible addition to bring the best out of Bruno Guimaraes and make the Brazilian star ‘even stronger’ and suggest there is ‘no doubt’ Rennes can be convinced to sell their prize asset.