Newcastle United Transfer News: Debuchy £4 Million Bid Rejected

Lille have rejected a £4 million offer from Newcastle United for France full-back Mathieu Debuchy, according to the club's coach Rudi Garcia.

By Matt Holmes /

our earlier story about De Jong, Newcastle's long term interest in Debuchy has been well documented. They see him as the replacement for Danny Simpson who looks certain to leave St. James' Park after failing to lower his wage demands and his contract expiring in 12 months time. Debuchy is a close friend of Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye and has linked up well with him for the national side at Euro 2012, where Newcastle's Hatem Ben Arfa is also another Toon influence. However Debuchy's impressive performances have likely hurt Newcastle's chances of signing him. Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Paris St. Germain, Valencia and Inter Milan have all now been linked with making a move, the latter having actually lodged a bid last week. This has increased Lille's valuation on the player which is now closer to £6 million than Newcastle's £4 million. Speaking French website 20 minutes, Garcia insisted that he was not looking to sell Debuchy;

"He is torn between staying with us and playing in the Champions League in our new stadium or going elsewhere," "If he does go and it is a sporting progression, then we will be happy to see him evolve - but we have not planned to replace him."
Garcia even joked that Newcastle must have a mistake in thinking they had made an offer for somebody else as the bid was so low;
"But I do believe that Newcastle have faxed an offer of £4million - but they must have the wrong player," he joked.
And that he isn't surprised Debuchy's recent performances have attracted interest from elsewhere;
"No , as he plays with France as he does with us, he plays high and attacks but defensively is also very rigorous and he exudes confidence," said Garcia. "Without insulting Reveillere and Sagna, he is trying to show he should always be right-back for France."

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