Newcastle United have told Anderlecht they must offer another £500,000 to seal the permanent signing of Matz Sels, according to the Sun.
The newspaper claim the north-east giants have rejected the Belgian club’s £1.75million bid to convert the goalkeeper’s 2017-18 loan into a full-time move.
The Sun report Newcastle are holding out for £2.25million for the 26-year-old but Anderlecht are “refusing” to increase their offer, throwing the deal into major doubt.
OPINION
Given the amount of work all parties have put into Sels returning permanently to Belgium and the club where he performed so impressively on loan last season, it would be a major blow for it to fall apart at the seams at this stage. Certainly, Newcastle are well within their rights to demand £2.25million for a player entering his peak years who has just had a fine campaign and cost them around £5.5million two years ago. Sels struggled to adapt to English football in 2016-17 after being installed initially as the number one following his arrival, but he has proved to be a very capable keeper back in his homeland. Perhaps Anderlecht are trying their luck after the 26-year-old was omitted from Belgium’s World Cup squad – although there was fierce competition for places – but Newcastle should not cave in, despite having so many keepers on their wage bill. Sels is good enough to command a decent fee from another club later in the window.
