Romano says rivals are in talks to sign Newcastle’s £17m target

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Excl: Lille are in talks to sign Ludovic Blas from Nantes. Concrete interest and negotiations as Fonseca now want a French player as a signing. 🔴🇫🇷 #Transfers

The clubs will open talks to reach a full agreement soon. pic.twitter.com/YmYKGaFZuS

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 31, 2022

With a reported price of £17million, Blas would be an expensive signing for Lille this summer, although Nantes won silverware last season and will now compete in Europe, the French side are yet to sack a few players to even out the books, including star goalkeeper Alban Lafont may be leaving in the coming weeks.

Lille may be in talks to sign Blas but Newcastle were the side who had the strongest links with the France midfielder, with the Magpies chasing the Ligue 1 star for some time, if reports are to be believed, with Eddie Howe seems keen to repeat Bruno Guimaraes’ success in January.

The Brazilian arrived as one of the best players in Ligue 1 from Olympique Lyonnais and with Blas impressing in the French top flight last year, the 24-year-old could have a similar impact at Newcastle but as we now know, Lille is in charge to sign the versatile attacking midfielder.

With Newcastle now reportedly pushing hard to sign James Maddison, the decision to give up a move for Blas appears to have been made and with Lille in the driver’s seat to secure the Nantes star’s signature, the series of events could very well be may work well for the toon.

Newcastle moving for Maddison give Lille free chance to sign Blas

Blas would have been an interesting signing for Newcastle but with the Magpies now moving to Leicester City star Maddison the change of direction may have given Lille a free chance to sign the Nantes midfielder who could be a brilliant addition to the Ligue 1 side .

After all, Lille disappointed last season after their Ligue 1 triumph in 2021 and the signing of Blas and targeting a French talent could be a brilliant step in the right direction to challenge PSG for the title again, especially given the pursuit from Newcastle to Maddison, the Les Dogues gives a clear run for the 24-year-old.

In other news, Pundit claims the 42-year-old was “embarrassed” when he heard he could replace Klopp at Liverpool