OPINION
Newcastle United have been heavily linked with a move for Nice striker Alassane Plea in the last few days, with the Magpies reportedly submitting their first cash bid of the summer for the 25-year-old.
As reported by the Chronicle, Newcastle have tabled a club-record £20million offer for Plea, which has been swiftly rejected by the Ligue 1 club as they seek to raise £27million for their star man.
The regional newspaper claimed that their main rivals for Plea’s signature, Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach, had walked away from negotiations for now after a similar bid was knocked back.
The Chronicle seemed to think that Monchengladbach had refused to up their bid even further, and were set to abandon their hunt for the 21-goal striker.
However, a more recent report from German outlet Kicker seems to suggest that is not the case at all.
The football magazine instead reports that Monchengladbach and Nice have agreed a deal in principle, with Plea also said to have agreed personal terms ahead of the move.
The 25-year-old Frenchman is said to be keen to join the Bundesliga side, with just payment structure left to negotiate between the two parties.
Now, this may seem like a blow for Newcastle, who have quite clearly identified Plea as their top striker target this summer, but in fact the club look to have dodged a bullet on this one.
Plea is a good player, there is little arguments to be made against that.
However, the 25-year-old has only just had his first season of scoring more than 20 goals in a league campaign, with his 21-goal effort in 2017/18.
And, if you look at his season closely, his form has been wildly inconsistent across the whole season, with his tally beefed up by four goals in one game against Guingamp and a late season spree.
Plea is therefore relatively untested at the highest level, and has not shown enough evidence to suggest he could score on a consistent basis in the Premier League.
His average 5ft 11in frame [Transfermarkt] also fails to inspire confidence when you consider Benitez is probably planning on playing him as a loan target man on Tyneside.
And finally, when you consider the £27million fee that Nice are demanding, a deal for Plea throws up more questions than answers for the Magpies.
Once fans have recovered from this blow, they will slowly realise that the club have dodged an expensive bullet on this one, with other targets sure to provide far better returns next season.
