Sven Botman once predicted that former Lille team-mate Boubakary Soumare would become one of Europe's top players. Newcastle United had a similar feeling when they launched a £30m bid for his services back in 2020.
Soumare snubbed the move to Tyneside as he held out for bigger teams to try and tempt him away from Ligue 1. "We had a plane booked to go and meet Soumare, but the boy changed his mind. He's only young and there's a lot of top clubs who have been linked with him," Steve Bruce said in the days after the failed move.
Leicester came along 18 months later and finally persuaded Soumare to jump ship in a £17m move. The player's arrival at the King Power Stadium was met with excitement from supporters but the transfer never managed to live up to expectations.
