Your Newcastle United transfer round-up for Sunday, February 6.
Botman bid went to the wire
Newcastle refused to give up on Sven Botman until the dying embers of the transfer window, according to Italian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The defender was the Magpies' number one target last month but Lille played hardball due to their Champions League ambitions.
However, Romano claims Newcastle were on alert right up until the window slammed shut.
He told his YouTube channel: “I can tell you. Five days before the end of the window, Newcastle made an official new bid for Sven Botman. They were ready to pay around £42m. It was guaranteed.
“The answer from Lille was always the same, Botman is not leaving the club in January.”
Ekitike agent ‘unconvinced’
Toon target Hugo Ekitike saw no plan at Newcastle while considering a big-money move.
Reims accepted a bid in the region of £25million on deadline day but the deal stalled due to the young striker’s reservations about his potential new club.
His agent, Karl Buchmann, told the Sun: “We were not convinced about the sports project (at Newcastle) and we saw no short or medium-term plan with their approach.
“Hugo has achieved great things in just six months but as he is attached to the club, we agreed with the leaders to end the season with Reims.”
Fresh twist in Lingard saga
The Mirror claim Man Utd players are furious with Ralf Rangnick over his handling of the Jesse Lingard situation.
Newcastle’s move for the England international broke down, with the Red Devils boss saying the player requested a short break and would not feature in the FA Cup against Middlesbrough.
Lingard rebuffed those comments on social media but Rangnick doubled down following his side’s 1-0 defeat and said he wanted him in the squad.
The Three Lions star is a free agent in the summer and is unlikely to sign a new deal at Old Trafford.
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