NEWCASTLE TRANSFER NEWS: PSG’S ARNAUD KALIMUENDO SET TO JOIN RENNES

Newcastle United are definitely going to miss out on signing Arnaud Kalimuendo, as the forward is now set to join Rennes. That’s according to L’Equipe, who state that the Ligue 1 side are very close to finalising a deal with Paris Saint-Germain. They state that Rennes will pay £21million for the 20-year-old, and that PSG will receive a percentage of any future fee they get for Kalimuendo. It ends talk of a move to the Premier League for the youngster, and it ends talk of a move to St James’ Park.

The Magpies have spent the entire summer looking for a new forward to act as backup to Callum Wilson. It was meant to be Hugo Ekitike, but he decided to join PSG instead. Newcastle have since been left to look elsewhere, and have been linked with Kalimuendo – who has ironically been pushed down the pecking order at PSG by Ekitike. It was claimed last month that Dan Ashworth had tabled a £17million bid for the Frenchman, who has excelled on loan at Lens over the past two years. He scored 12 Ligue 1 goals last season, which caught the attention of Newcastle and other Premier League teams.

Kalimuendo was also a target for Leeds, who appear to have chased him a bit more relentlessly than Newcastle. It was even claimed that he was close to joining Jesse Marsch’s side. But that isn’t happening. He will instead be staying in France, where he will play alongside another Toon target in Kamaldeen Sulemana at Rennes. They are managed by Bruno Genesio, whose squad also includes Tottenham loanee Joe Rodon.

It will be interesteing to see how Kalimuendo performs at Rennes. They are paying big money for him, but he has proven himself in Ligue 1 over the past couple of years and is only going to get better. If he does perform there, he could prove to be one that got away for Newcastle.

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