Newcastle United have submitted an offer of £20million for Nice striker Alassane Plea, according to the Chronicle.
The regional newspaper report that the offer was rejected by the Ligue 1 club as they demand £27million for the speedy striker, who scored 21 goals in all competitions last season.
The Chronicle claim that Borussia Monchengladbach, who have been rivals in the hunt, tabled a similar offer but have now walked away from negotiations after also being told to up their bid and refusing to do so.
It is said that the 25-year-old’s former club Lyon are seeking 20% of any transfer fee, and that has seen the asking price set at the touted £27million.
OPINION
It had been rumoured that Newcastle’s offer for Plea stood around £15million, which seemed a derisory and rather pointless offer considering Nice’s asking price of £27million. This latest reported offer of £20million seems far more realistic, although the response is obviously the same as previously claimed. Nice are obviously trying to fetch as much as possible for their star man, and unless there is a breakthrough soon, a deal for the 25-year-old looks hard to push through for the Magpies. It is highly unlikely that club bosses will sanction a £27million bid for a player like Plea, who is still untested outside of France. There are also questions about his consistency at the top level, with the hitman having just one season so far in his career where he has scored more than 20 goals. There is obviously something about him which Rafa Benitez likes, and that is obviously a positive, so it will be interesting to see how he does perform in the Premier League should an unlikely deal be agreed.
