Magpies competed for former Toulouse star.
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Newcastle United were hopeful of signing French midfielder Etienne Capoue this summer, before Tottenham beat them to his signature, according to the Journal.
The 25-year-old was also reportedly a target for Arsenal, though it was Cardiff City who almost pulled off a shock deal to sign him before he rejected a move to the newly-promoted side.
Newcastle have come under strong criticism from their fans after a quiet transfer window, in which only striker Loic Remy was brought in on a season-long loan deal from Queens Park Rangers.
Manager Alan Pardew has explained that he felt he couldn’t find anyone for the right price who would have improved his current options, and pointed to the club’s busy activity in last January’s transfer window.
However, with those signings failing to help the Magpies away from the bottom half of the table, fans will be understandably disappointed to learn that they missed out on a number of their targets in the summer, with Capoue being the most notable one, as he made a £9m switch to White Hart Lane.
The club also missed out on Norwich City’s Anthony Pilkington and Lille’s Florian Thauvin, it has been revealed, and other reports suggested they tried to re-sign Demba Ba from Chelsea on loan.