£30m Newcastle United transfer mistake avoided despite…

£30m Newcastle United transfer mistake avoided despite glowing Sven Botman reference

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.

Soumare consistently struggled to establish himself as a regular member of Brendan Rodgers' first-team and has hardly featured for the Foxes in 2022. A return to France is now on the cards with Monaco keen to offer the 23-year-old a second chance.

Newcastle ace Botman will be among many disappointed by Soumare's struggles, with the Dutch defender heaping lavish praise on his co-star during their days together in France.

“If I’m honest, I think Soumare is one of the most talented players I have ever played with,” Botman told the Athletic before Soumare's Leicester move. “He is similar to Ryan Gravenberch at Ajax but Soumare is more physical and has a lot of quality.

"I’m sure he is going to be a really top player. I can imagine some clubs, like Leicester or others in the Premier League, are interested. All credit to him, because he is having an amazing season.”

Things may have been different for the Frenchman had he joined Newcastle back in 2020 but for now Botman's vision for his former co-star doesn't look like it will come to fruition. Asked if he expects Soumare to move on, Rodgers recently said: “There’s a big possibility.

"Bouba’s in a situation where there’s another club that want to take him. He’s training really well but at this moment in time, his focus, in fairness to him, is elsewhere. But we know what the situation is.

“It’s a shame because over the course of pre-season, I saw real improvements in him. That’s where it’s at. Both him and I are of the understanding that if the situation changes, he will come back into the fold again.”

£30m Newcastle United transfer mistake avoided despite glowing Sven Botman reference

READ NEXT