Report: Newcastle United now willing to pay £30m to sign dribbling wizard with ‘a lot of potential’

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Newcastle United have said they would be willing to pay £30m for Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Manu Kone.

The report from L’Equipe suggests that Newcastle have approached the German club with the fee they would be ready to pay, without a bid being made.

The central midfielder joined Gladbach in January 2021, and was a key part of the German side’s starting line-up in this first full season in Germany.

Kone played more minutes than any other midfielder at the club, and the 21-year-old has also broken into France’s under-21 side.

L’Equipe suggest Gladbach will be ‘very firm’ on keeping hold of Kone, but that a bid of around £38m could make them question the Frenchman’s future at the club.

Newcastle willing to pay £30m for Kone

Described by former manager Adi Hutter as a player with ‘a lot of potential’, Kone has tended to play as part of a three-man midfield at Gladbach.

Kone was in the top 3% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues for dribbles completed last season, and would fit in well in a Newcastle side that tend to enjoy carrying the ball up the pitch quickly on the break.

Capable of playing as a box-to-box midfielder, or in a slightly deeper role if required, Kone would certainly be an exciting option for Eddie Howe.

The combination of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Joe Willock has worked well so far this season, and so he may be keen not to disrupt this straight away.

However more depth is certainly required, with Sean Longstaff and youngster Elliot Anderson the only recognised central players on the bench yesterday,

Newcastle being willing to pay £30m for Kone matches up with previous suggestions that this is the most they can afford to spend this window, although this might just be a ploy to keep their transfer spending down.

And it’s always been Howe’s plan to bring in another central player this summer, with James Maddison one of the names linked to a move to St. James’ Park this most.

Newcastle could use their impressive 3-3 draw against Manchester City as a way to convince Kone or any other potential signings this window that the club really are on the way up.

The style of play against the Premier League champions would particularly excite Kone, who if he combined with Allan Saint-Maximin could create one of the most terrifying dribbling pairs in the league.