St James’ Park side plan yet another Ligue 1 raid.
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Alan Pardew has set his sights on yet another Ligue 1 based signing as the Magpies boss reportedly looks to snap up Marseille centre-back Nicolas N’Koulou according to the Daily Mail.
The highly rated 23 year old is valued at £18m by this source and that’s a hefty fee that Pardew will hope to offset by offering Steven Taylor in a part exchange deal for the Cameroon international.
Though both AC Milan and Juventus are said to be keen on N’Koulou the former Monaco defender is said to favour a move to the Premier League.
Marseille boss Elie Baup would be loathed to lose N’Koulou as the tough tackling central defender has been a pivotal member of a side that has for much of the season been a genuine Ligue 1 title contender to runaway leaders PSG.
N’Koulou has been an ever present in the Marseille first team and has impressed many watching scouts but one wonders if a player would give up the chance of plying his trade in the Champions League, with a spot in the competition seemingly likely for his current side, for a move to a Newcastle United side that is languishing at the wrong end of the table.
Pardew clearly likes to shop in the French top tier having signed Mathieu Debuchy, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Yoan Gouffran, Massadio Haïdara and Moussa Sissoko in January.