Newcastle United target PSG defender N'Soki

Bengaluru, August 5: Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez has launched a £6million bid for Paris Saint-Germain defender Stanley N'Soki as per reports in England.

The Tyneside club are set to spend £3m in add-ons to land the France Under-20 international, who has made just one Ligue 1 appearance for the French champions.

PSG were hoping for £9m upfront, but despite that reports across The Channel are suggesting Newcastle are close to sealing the deal.

N'Soki is an academy product of the reigning Ligue 1 champions having joined the club in 2014 aged 15. The centre-back made his first-team debut in December 2017, after replacing Marquinhos in the 65th-minute of the 3-0 win over Caen.

But the youngster who is on PSG’s pre-season tour of the Far East has rejected the chance to sign his first professional contract in the French capital as he wants regular playing time and deems that as impossible at Parc des Princes.

Benitez could now step in with a lucrative offer and the chance for N’Soki to play regular football in the Premier League next season.

The French-born star is of Congolese descent, but has pledged his future to the nation of his birth.

N'Soki has turned out for France's Under-16, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-20 sides, racking up a total of 12 caps in all.

Newcastle are also keeping tabs on Kieran Gibbs, Salomon Rondon, Nicolas Tagliafico and Isaac Kiese Thelin after the arrival of Japanese striker Yoshinori Muto.

The Toons are also strongly interested in Liverpool striker Danny Ings but face strong competition from the likes of Burnley, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton.

It has been a pretty decent window so far for the Tyneside club having signed Ki Sung-Yeung, Martin Dubravka, Kenedy, Fabian Schar and Yoshinari Muto but Benitez is keen on getting a few more new faces before the end of the transfer window.