Newcastle United have lodged a "substantial" bid for Lyon midfielder Clement Grenier, according to Sky Sources (via TeamTalk). The undisclosed bid signals an intent from The Magpies to make the 23-year-old French international the man to replace the departing Yohan Cabaye, who is expected to complete his move to Paris Saint-Germain today (Wednesday). Newcastle have been linked with the highly-rated midfielder for the past several weeks. Grenier is believed to have been identified by Chief Scout Graham Carr as a good fit for Newcastle long before Cabaye's exit and the Premier League club are hopeful they can convince Lyon to part with their asset. The Ligue 1 club have been in no selling mood this summer, already turning down big money offers from Napoli for Grenier's midfield partner Maxime Gonalons. However there is a feeling that a move for Grenier could happen with the player having just two years left on his current deal, and club president Jean-Michel Aulas reportedly having told the player privately that he was prepared to listen to offers for him in this window. When asked earlier about a potential move to Newcastle, Grenier said; "I have only just learned about interest from the press, like you. "I have no idea what can be said or done at this time. At one point, the president said that if a good offer is made for me this winter, he would look at it. "I do not know if he received an offer or not and I'm not at all thinking about it.
Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.
