There’s news today in France that Newcastle scouts have been checking on 22 year-old Anthony Koura of Olympique Nîmes twice in the last few weeks after the lad had a trial back in 2012 at Newcastle – but we didn’t bother taking up the option of signing the then 19 year-old.
The youngster has played for French Youth sides from U16 through U19 and is currently with Olympique Nimes in Ligue 2 after leaving le Mans in 2013.
22 year-old striker Anthony Koura of Nimes
Reports in France say that Newcastle, Watford and Sunderland are three PL clubs interested in the player but that we had scouts at the Nimes’ 1-1 draw with Dijon last Saturday.
We were also reported to have had scouts at last night’s game at Creteil that Nines won 2-1, and Koura hit the winner in that game as they came back from 1-0 down to score twice in the last 10 minutes with the winner coming after 87 minutes.
The 22 year-old has a contract at Nimes that runs out next June so he could come cheap in January or as a free transfer next summer.
The fee in January is said to be around £300K and we should be able to afford that given we should get around £80M from the Premier League next May.
Anthony stands 5’11” tall and is right footed and has played 70 times for Olympique Nîmes with 11 goals and four assists.
But we’d be surprised if this lad can help us if we are still in relegation trouble in January, and we need somebody like Charlie Austin, who is a proven PL goalscorer after he had such a good season for QPR last term.
While it’s fine signing players like Koura on the cheap who are young and seem to have great potential – Ayoze Perez was another example of this type of player – we also have to be willing to pay the extra money for a proven striker if we are to stay in the Premier League this season.
Koura can play up front as a striker, but he’s also versatile and can play on either wing.
This lad could be a good acquisition for us but’s a huge risk that he can help us in the second half of this season.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
13 comments so far
firebug666
Oct 31, 2015 at 6:40 PM
Comment #1Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot picks up thigh injury
Rob Elliot in action for Newcastle on November 29, 2014© Getty Images
By Stephen Topping, Reporter
Filed: Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 18:23 UK
Last Updated: Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 18:24 UK
Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot has picked up a thigh injury in his side’s 0-0 draw with Stoke City this afternoon.
The 29-year-old – who joined Newcastle from Charlton Athletic in 2011 – has suffered a recurrence of the thigh injury that saw him miss the second half of last season.
Elliot joins fellow goalkeepers Tim Krul and Karl Darlow on his side’s injury list, leaving the Magpies with just 18-year-old Freddie Woodman fit to face Bournemouth next weekend.
Steve McClaren’s side could ask the Premier League for special dispensation to sign an additional goalkeeper on an emergency loan.
Elliot has made 28 appearances for the club in all competitions.
manxpie
Oct 31, 2015 at 6:46 PM
Comment #2catchy i have lol its you who bring him up fella as i said your credability is shot as you blamed him for everything
and can’t bring yourself to say actually i was wrong the squad wasn’t great and tbf he’s doing ok a crystal palace
he never had 50 mill to spend infact had a whole year without transfers while ashley was “balancing the books” that was his fault aswell i suppose
JDdubai
Oct 31, 2015 at 6:48 PM
Comment #3Has any team in history lost all their keepers 2 seasons in a row???
Overall we played better, wasnt our day, Butland kept them in it.
Disappointing but building towards something better.
Shows the lack of talent we have in CM though.
CB, CM, pacy forward in Jan would be nice. Also if we had got a top winger in instead of Thauvin we would be even better.
catchy in norway
Oct 31, 2015 at 6:48 PM
Comment #4manx
he was shyt before he came
he was shyt while he was here
the 2 games i have seen them play, they were shyt..
only time will tell, we will finish above them, this im sure of
Hail Wor Ashley
Oct 31, 2015 at 6:49 PM
Comment #5MAnxpie
You’re an idiot of the JfA magnitude!
manxpie
Oct 31, 2015 at 6:49 PM
Comment #6on post jesus christ just wat we need
manxpie
Oct 31, 2015 at 6:54 PM
Comment #7i’m the idiot am I? at least I can type properly
but i suppose it is quite hard with a straight jacket on so well done
Mister Tuff
Oct 31, 2015 at 6:58 PM
Comment #8As the weeks roll by it’s not much use saying well we are playing good football, we are playing better than last season, we should of had a penalty, we didn’t have much luck, we should have won we were the better team blah blah blah.
We need points on the board -full stop.
Who made the decision to keep Colo – was it Wally or not.
Who authorised Thauvin to be signed..
We should have had attention paid to the defence in the summer – we obviously didn’t. We were after that Douglas bloke 3-4 years ago still nowt done.
At this rate we are going to be lucky to reach January with enough points in the bag – purchases then might be completely pointless.
manxpie
Oct 31, 2015 at 6:58 PM
Comment #9ok catchy but then don’t compare the managers then as 50 mill has been spent on good quality players
manxpie
Oct 31, 2015 at 7:01 PM
Comment #10tuff i think ashley thinks defenders aren’t big money to often where as attacking players are makes perfect sense dont ya think?
JP...from The Rock
Oct 31, 2015 at 7:02 PM
Comment #11We should be looking at much better and proven players instead of this guy. We should look at EPL, Championship and German leagues.
When is our stupid fetish with French players going to end!??
Back Door Man
Oct 31, 2015 at 8:37 PM
Comment #12Tuff is correct in his assessment of how the season is going … down the pan! Wally continues to ‘thrash around in the dark’ for a solution (any solution!) to improve matters. What he, and others in positions of influence, seem unable to grasp is that football IS A SIMPLE GAME. The ball needs to get to the forwards effectively and, if you’ve got a ‘target man’ like Millo, it needs to come up the wings to the byline and be launched ACCURATELY into the penalty area. Clever players like Perez need ACCURATE through balls or diagonal balls distributed by a player with a quick mind and an accurate quick pass – that so-called ‘play-maker’ is currently lacking. Wally doesn’t seem to grasp these basic truths; he has this vision that seems to complicate what needs to be done. ALL the players at the Toon DO HAVE the necessary skills to play a simple, yet effective, game – I suspect Wally is suppressing these methods by believing he has some kind of mystical power (like many managers) to re-invent what should be a simple game.
nufc 11
Nov 1, 2015 at 11:00 AM
Comment #13When you think of it nufc has never spent prober money on the defence colo was the exception and look how that turned out find it a amazing that the club doesn’t think we need a new cb in January maybe we deserve what we get when we have such incompetents running the place.