Newcastle United are in need of defensive reinforcements if they are to confirm their place in the Premier League next season, and are targeting Belgian international Jason Denayer to do so.
The former Manchester City defender currently plays out his trade in the France with Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais. He has played 17 games for the French side so far this season, scoring three goals and adding one assist, which isn’t bad for a centre-back.
Nevertheless, the 26-year-old is out of contract in the summer, and according to Dutch outlet Nieuwsblad, The Magpies are set to try and take advantage of this situation.
Newcastle have two main options they can choose for the pursuit of the defender.
Firstly, they can approach Lyon now and pay a cut price transfer fee to allow them to bring in instant quality that they hope will keep them in the Premier League.
Or the second option, which is to lobby for Denayer’s signature when his contract expires and hope they can stay up without his immediate services, and then if all goes well sign him on a free in the summer.
As per transfermarkt, the Belgian defender has an estimated transfer value of £18m, but in his likelihood Newcastle would be able to shave a bit more off of this if they put in an offer. Not that money is much of an object to them following the clubs Saudi-backed PIF takeover earlier in the season.
Lyon are struggling in Ligue 1 at the moment, currently sitting down in 13th place compared to where they want to be in challenging for the title and at minimum earning a spot in a position that allows them to qualify for Europe.
Denayer has also been a mainstay in the Belgian national side since the retirement of Vicent Kompany, making 33 appearances. Ironically for Denayer when he plays internationally, the Belgian national team share the nickname Red Devils with Man City’s arch-rivals Manchester United.