According to The Telegraph, Newcastle could sign Nice midfielder Wylan Cyprien in a cut-price deal before the end of the transfer window next week.
What’s the word?
Time is running out for the Magpies to get some fresh faces through the door, and their near embarrassment at the hands of Newport County in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night would surely have had Steve Bruce calling for new signings behind the scenes.
And as per The Telegraph, the Magpies could strike an £8m deal for French midfield ace Cyprien, who has also been linked with a potential move to fellow Premier League side Aston Villa.
With just a few days left before the transfer window shuts, it remains to be seen whether the Tyneside club can get a deal over the line.
Better than Sean Longstaff
Make no mistake about it, Cyprien would represent a major upgrade on Sean Longstaff.
After bursting onto the scene a couple of seasons ago, Longstaff hasn’t kicked on as some may have hoped. Former Magpies boss even insisted that the midfielder “wouldn’t look out of place with England”.
However, that hasn’t been the case, and the 2019/2020 campaign saw him score just two goals and provide two assists in 29 games across all competitions.
Cyprien, on the other hand, is a goal-scoring machine from central midfield. The 25-year-old netted eight times and set up a further five others last season, with his former teammate at Nice, Jean Michael Seri raving about his talents.
He said: “He is very capable and he knows how to do everything with the ball: dribble, shoot, score. And then, honestly, a 6 who can attack as well as he can defend, I have rarely seen that.
“I saw from the get go what he brings, but the moment at which I said to myself that he is a top player was at the Parc (des Princes – PSG’s stadium). In Paris, he showed that he is a phenomenon. Very few midfielders, at his age, take their responsibilities. He did and had a huge game.”
Newcastle can land a major coup with a bargain swoop for Cyprien.
