Bizarre claim links Newcastle United with 'mega' bid for Bundesliga defender previously linked with move to Tyneside
Newcastle United need a new centre-back through the door this summer, and while Marc Guehi is supposedly their top target, Liverpool's interest in the Crystal Palace man has cast a shadow over the move for the Magpies.
Eddie Howe has already seen a handful of players opt to move to other clubs ahead of Newcastle, and there's a feeling that Guehi could be about to do the same, which is why Newcastle are looking at other options for the centre of their defence.
So far, we've seen a lot of familiar names resurface as potential links, but there was one name that we hadn't heard from for a while, until now.
Burkina Faso international Edmond Tapsoba was a player who Newcastle were linked with constantly last year, and today his name has appeared again with a report suggesting that the Magpies have made a 'mega' bid to Bayer Leverkusen for the 26-year-old.
Newcastle have launched a bid to sign Edmond Taposoba
A report in Get Football News Germany, quoting from German outlet Fussball Transfers, has suggested that Newcastle have lodged a bid of almost £50 million for the defender.
GFNG mentions Newcastle's poor luck with transfers this summer and suggests that a similar outcome could occur with Tapsoba, claiming that Tottenham Hotspur are also in for the star.
Having also already sold Jonathan Tah and Odilon Koussounou, Leverkusen aren't too keen on losing another defender.
Things aren't quite adding up for us
There are red flags galore on this story, for us, though.
Firstly, the report mentions that the story originated in The Mirror, but we can't see any sign of it on their website. Although we do concede that it may have been in the print edition and not on the site, or part of the live transfer blog from another day.
But the biggest red flag for us is that they claim that we've gone straight in with a £50 million bid. Other outlets have reported a bid of £43 million, however, but even that seems high for an initial bid by Newcastle.
Lastly, at 26, Edmond Tapsoba feels like he'd be at the higher end of the age bracket Newcastle are looking at, and therefore, we'd be less likely to splash that much cash when there are younger options available for potentially less money.
Newcastle have had a long-standing interest in Tapsoba, so there could be some truth in here somewhere, but right now it's not adding up for us.
