News today that Newcastle are interested in French U19 player Yanis Bahloul.
Yanis Bahloul – 17 year-old attacking midfielder wanted by Magpies and Lazio
The 5’7″ tall 17 year-old midfielder currently plays for Ligue 2 side Sedan in France, although he has never yet played for the first team yet.
But Newcastle these days are always on the look-out for top young talent to bring to Tyneside, and France is their number one priority, with some very good French Players already at the Newcastle club.
You guessed it – Bahloul is out of contract at the end of the season – and after Graham Carr has watched him play for Sedan’s Academy and Reserve sides, it seems Newcastle want the player on Tyneside.
However, the news is that they will face tough competition from Italian side Lazio, based in Rome, and they may be ahead of Newcastle in the battle to sign the top-rated youngster.
The French Daily L’Equipe is reporting that Lazio are also willing to offer him a deal when his current contract expires on June 30th.
Bahloul plays on the right side of midfielder, and turns 18 on 12th June, and he has already turned down a chance to play for the Moroccan national side.
But it seems that Lazio are the favorites to sign the youngster, but you can never rule Newcastle out, because they are a well-supported club in France these days, having so many French players in their squad, and Yanis will be well aware of that.
L’Equipe is reporting that Lazio have invited the player to Rome, and they plan to use the visit to persuade him to join them in the summer.
We have no news on whether he will also be visiting Newcastle.
Alan Pardew is bringing two sets of players into the club this summer, those that can slip straight into the first team, and those that are ones for the future, and the Magpies are always keen to spot top young players.
Newcastle’s strategy is to bring the top youngsters to the club,and then develop them at the first class facilities that Newcastle now have, which includes a heated training ground, so they can train outdoors during the winter months.
Bahloul turns 18 in June, so we’ll have to see which club the lad chooses, but as we said previously, don’t rule Newcastle United out.
Comments welcome.
6 comments so far
Ollieh51
Apr 24, 2012 at 9:56 AM
Comment #1Jesus…
Knew we’d be busy this summer building a squad but these links coming before we’re out of April are going to be massively touch and go!
Robby Bobson
Apr 24, 2012 at 9:59 AM
Comment #2Seeing as come next season we will have a reserve squad consisting of Mehdi Abeid and 9 yr olds, can see alot of younguns being ‘signed’ (stolen) in to fill the huge void thats being left.
tarie4
Apr 24, 2012 at 10:05 AM
Comment #3Ollieh51
Aye lad, but U are missing my point..stats mean f all.. I am not bashing simmo as I quite like him, but I would like you to use a better argument other than stats wen justifying the reason to keep simmo…for example, those simmo stats say he has put in more crosses into the box than any other rb. Ok fair enuf..but how many of those where good crosses?? How many of those led to goals?? Only one I can think of v Everton and that cross was awful..luckily an Everton player put it in their own net.. See what I mean about stats, they don’t tell the whole story
Last season nzogbia was 2nd only to messi as the player who attempted and completed the most dribbles in Europe!! Did I see the likes of man city etc lining up to buy him?? Again I am not bashing simmo I am utterly grateful for his service to the team, and I hope he signs a new contract, but it winds me up people using stats to back their arguement
He is another for you..last season downing put in the most crosses in the box and had one of the highest cross accuracy in the league…KD bought him as he felt downing wud bring the best out of carrolls heading ability.. How many assists does downing have..even playing with Carroll. We should not use stats yo justify a buy or to keep a player, as they mean f all..
again I stress, I am not bashing simmo, I want him to stay, but the stat argument holds no water IMHO
catchy in norway
Apr 24, 2012 at 10:29 AM
Comment #4tarie4
i get your point fully, and for me its not bashing players, but saying the truth, as a club if we want to move forward we have to see where the weakness is in the team and try and get better players for that position,
simpson, isnt a bad right back but would any of the so called big clubs have him as there right back, i dont think so, i personally think santon would be a better RB, with fergie on the left,
would i keep simpson, yes, but he would not be my first choice rb,
the club is on the verg of getting into the champions league, we have 7 players at the club that between spurs man u man c che ars would love to have them at there clubs, that leaves 4 places in our team that make us weaker, but 1 of those is santan who IMO will come good, just right now he is young and new to the league, but you can see he has the abilty,
and if you think we are bashing players, why is that the club is trying to seek better player for these positions themselfs,?
Andrew M
Apr 24, 2012 at 12:05 PM
Comment #5If he’s interested in football, he ought to choose Newcastle. First, I don’t see us being a significantly smaller club than the Rome giants. Second, he’s likely to get more chances to impress at Newcastle. Third, just how many great wingers have Italian teams produced down the years? Sure, in the nineties, there was the Sacci-inspired switch to 4-4-2, and there were some quality ones, like Lombardo, Lentini, Donadoni et al, but in general, Italian teams don’t play with wingers in the way we, or, say, the Dutch do. And currently, the vogue in Italy appears for formations like 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2, where wingers are deeper and essentially auxilliary full backs.
If it’s a straight choice, and he’s interested in an actual career, and not just cash up front, he should come to Newcastle.
STtoon
Apr 24, 2012 at 12:10 PM
Comment #6its good to see this news,we need young potential players in our squad,they are our future..