We were linked with Stade Reims’ exciting young winger Remi Oudin just a few weeks ago. He is an up and coming player in Ligue 1 who has earned rave reviews this year.
Remi Oudin – exciting player in high demand
There is a report in the Sun that Watford have had a €7M bid for the player rejected by Reims. This fee is well below Reims’ valuation of their young star.
There are reports circulating over the past few months pinning fees anywhere from €10M to as high as €25M for the player.
Rémi Oudin, c'est la révélation de la saison en Ligue 1. Sa côte est passée à 25M d'euros sur @MonPetitGazon ! Et visiblement, il l'a pas vu venir… #MPG pic.twitter.com/6IAxRRkf03
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) April 20, 2019
A bid this low was almost certain to fail. We would have half expected Lee Charnley to have made a bid of this amount.
It will be interesting to see if any of the clubs linked with the player follow up with improved bids or if Watford comes back with a better offer.
The player has recently been linked with Fiorentina, Lazio, Nice, as well as Newcastle.
He is very versatile and has played on both wings, as a striker, and an attacking midfielder this term. The Reims’ academy product has scored 16 goals and added 10 assists since joining the first team two years ago.
This is a player very much on the rise. If Newcastle are truly interested, they need to get Rafa Benitez under contract before targets like this are snapped up.
48 comments so far
RobLeenio
May 22, 2019 at 12:15 AM
Comment #1Repost as it took me a while to compose it
So, where are we at?
Rafa and the club are yet to agree terms, or at least they have yet to announce that they have agreed terms.
Clubs are apparently circling for players which we hold dear to our hearts. Namely Martin Dubravka and Salomon Rondon. The former is contracted to NUFC and cannot speak to any other clubs without our permission, the latter can talk to any club which meets a fee set by West Brom.
We’ve been linked to signing numerous players, but we won’t spend any money at all until either Rafa signs or he refuses to do so and we appoint another manager.
Essentially we’re in hiatus until Rafa signs. Or not.
We need a decision. I don’t know what the consequences of Rafa leaving will be. Personally, I’ll be devastated and I strongly believe that the effect on the club will be hugely negative over the long term, but if he is going to leave then delaying the announcement will be negative over the short term too.
The club, the fans and the players need a decision and they need it in the next couple of days.
RobLeenio
May 22, 2019 at 12:20 AM
Comment #2I know nothing about this player linked in the article. Has he been linked previously? If so, where? No mention of his age in the article also, which is apparently a key factor in Ashley’s recruitment criteria.
Is this a proper link?
ronaldo aarons
May 22, 2019 at 12:32 AM
Comment #3Don’t recall him being linked and not actually seen him play. Pretty much unknown for me this player.
Consequences of Rafa leaving in my opinion , on the fans will be a couple weeks of internet rage, season starts, soon the narrative will be as usual, Rafa has gone, terrible but we don’t want relegation, need to support the team and focus on Ashley once we are safe etc etc.
Consequence of Rafa leaving on the team and players, massive.
ronaldo aarons
May 22, 2019 at 12:34 AM
Comment #4Telegraph Football
@TeleFootball
Manchester United open Daniel James talks while lining up bid for Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff.
@JPercyTelegraph reports
Hmm, the only way I’d consider selling longstaff is if they swap the glazers for Ashley in return.
ronaldo aarons
May 22, 2019 at 12:34 AM
Comment #5Then there is this, from the sun though so borrow some salt from the ITKs., just a pinch.
David Coverdale
@dpcoverdale
Rafa Benitez wants #nufc to try and sign Juan Mata if he stays on as boss – but would need the club to change their policy on older players and wages. Recruitment strategy is at the heart of current contract talks.
RobLeenio
May 22, 2019 at 12:39 AM
Comment #6Juan Mata, yes please.
The glazers are the same ilk as Ashley. The millions they have stripped from MUFC makes the pile Ashley has taken look like pocket change.
They bought the club on a loan then saddled that loan on the club. The implications of that are huge.
Cue the frog. And a massive correction from NY Mag (which I would welcome)
Nicky the ball tosser
May 22, 2019 at 12:43 AM
Comment #7Rafa being Rafa will most likely be beavering away preparing for the new season on the assumption he’s staying. He’ll be on the phone talking to agents and players. He’s still under contract for a couple of months, but I’m sure most of us believe an agreement has been reached and they are now just finalizing the details and work on transfers etc is in progress.
ronaldo aarons
May 22, 2019 at 12:47 AM
Comment #8Rob
Tbf, I don’t know anything about the glazers or ho they run Man Utd. I’m just naively thinking everything is ok as they are not spoken about much or complained about and Man Utd do their fair share of big transfers which admittedly comes naturally due to the size and stature of the club.
ronaldo aarons
May 22, 2019 at 12:49 AM
Comment #9Nicky
Do you think an agreement has been reached?
RobLeenio
May 22, 2019 at 12:57 AM
Comment #10ronaldo
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/oct/04/glazers-manchester-united
Nicky the ball tosser
May 22, 2019 at 1:00 AM
Comment #11Yeah, I think an agreement in principle has been reached and they are now dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s and of course it’ll only be made public once it’s signed and sealed. The season finished barely a week and a half ago, Rafa is still under contract and everyone is on a well earned break. The clamor is coming from the press and a percentage of the fanbase. We’ll see an announcement within a week I think.
RobLeenio
May 22, 2019 at 1:01 AM
Comment #12A portion of their fans were so upset with the Glazers’ takeover that they did this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.C._United_of_Manchester
toon22
May 22, 2019 at 1:02 AM
Comment #13We haven’t ever done things quickly
What’s the difference this time ?
ronaldo aarons
May 22, 2019 at 1:11 AM
Comment #14Rob
Yeah I recall all that I just assumed, incorrectly it turns out, that all that was resolved. Just assumed they made money to pay off the loans the glazers took out.
Nicky
I personally do disagree that they have an agreement in principle in place but I really hope you’re right.
lesh
May 22, 2019 at 1:13 AM
Comment #15Bettysbollocks
I ain’t obsessed with Trump but only pointing out to those whose support seems to tilt towards Farage and his ilk, that Trump is driving and probably financing Farage.
It seems that you and other Sun/ Star/ Express/ Telegraph/ Metro readers just don’t seem to get it – the pair of them and what they stand for are evil.
RobLeenio
May 22, 2019 at 1:31 AM
Comment #16Trump doesn’t fund Farage
The Russian State funds both of them
Nicky the ball tosser
May 22, 2019 at 1:53 AM
Comment #17The biggest reason I think it’s basically agreed is because both manager and owner have never been that far apart. Rafa has never asked to be backed like a senior club. He wants his “project” backed in a way that’s affordable for the club and in a way that is now relatively risk averse for Ashley after two years of consolidation back in the top flight, and he clearly wants to stay and Ashley wants him to stay.
Ashley needs to give a little ground here and there, perhaps the odd senior player signed for decent money and on decent wages now and again etc, but these really are simply details because what Rafa wants, essentially ongoing improvements to infrastructure and a sensible but competitive transfer kitty and tweaks here and there to how we do our business, is very do able now for Ashley and in his interests and with Rafa’s contract ending there’s no viable way to kick the can down the road any longer for either of them.
Ashley has his man. I don’t see him losing him at this late stage of the game.
NY Mag
May 22, 2019 at 2:39 AM
Comment #18Rob,
No correction from me…..sorry 🙂
lesh
May 22, 2019 at 3:37 AM
Comment #19RobLeenio
@16
You’re probably not far away from the reality.
Come to think of it, Russia’s probable interest in Farage might just bring our pro Brexit friends to their senses.
Ah, but that’s unlikely as they’d see Russia as doing the UK a favour.
Ah, buy where does that put the Marxist/ Trot/ Leninist/ Corbynite loony lefties who according to the likes of bettyswollocks, are supporters of Russia? Bettys, can you answer that one please?
The next Mike Williamson
May 22, 2019 at 4:14 AM
Comment #20I think the guy who said Dubravka is dispensable was saying that we always seem to do well in the GK department so he wasn’t worried about losing him as we will probably find another. While I’m not so confident we could find an equal replacement we do find goalkeepers better than strikers. It usually takes us a few years to replace a striker! And when was the last time we had a good winger? Probably Ben Arfa unless you count Ritchie in the championship! All our other wingers going back 7 or 8 years have been dreadful.
The next Mike Williamson
May 22, 2019 at 4:23 AM
Comment #21We should invent a time machine and send this Geordie Milkshake Thrower back to 1930s Germany so he can stop Hitler in his tracks with a nice butterscotch milkshake to his lovely Hugo Boss suit. Think of all the millions of lives he could save. That is unless Dubai objects.
If it’s not possible to make a time machine, we should at least make it into a TV series to fill the awful void left by Game of Thrones. Season one, Hitler. Season two, Iddi Amin. Season three, Vlad the Impaler. Season four; Trump. Then it can end on a whimper in the current day with Tommy Robinson, Farage & that offensive UKIP guy.
DubaiMicky
May 22, 2019 at 4:45 AM
Comment #22Morning, leaving all politics aside PLEASE, it’s got to the point where I’m walking away from here.
Anyway, Phil McNulty’s Premier League end-of-season report is on the BBC’s website and it’s surprisingly accurate – only 4 teams ended up in radically different positions to his predictions.
.
.
.
Newcastle United – 13th
Another August tip for relegation and threatened to give me a run for my imaginary money for a fair portion of the season. In the end, Newcastle survived with plenty to spare, adding to the Rafael Benitez legend on Tyneside – and it was all done amid the usual noise about his future.
McNulty’s pre-season prediction: 18th
What McNulty said in August: “If Benitez stays and can be kept reasonably happy (a big if that one) then there is reason to suspect Newcastle can stay up. If he doesn’t then there may be serious consequences.”
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48342382
.
.
.
It’ll be interesting when his new ones come out.
DubaiMicky
May 22, 2019 at 4:51 AM
Comment #23According to the Mirror, we’re also looking at Club Brugge Brazilian striker Wesley Moraes, 22.
Don’t think I’ve heard that rumour, but maybe I missed it in amongst all the other rumours.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/newcastle-transfer-chiefs-target-brazil-16175097
chicousa
May 22, 2019 at 5:33 AM
Comment #24According to #NUFC360 at 4:42am Newcastle time
Ashley and Rafa have reached an agreement over proceeding, with #NUFC vowing to back him with substantial transfer funds. Benitez wants to be able to aim for a European spot next season and it is claimed Newcastle are ready to back him. [Tuttosport]
chicousa
May 22, 2019 at 5:35 AM
Comment #25Not sure if this is just a rehash of reports from Italian sources from earlier…
But my fingers and toes are crossed!
DubaiMicky
May 22, 2019 at 5:41 AM
Comment #26IF, and it’s still and “IF” Rafa signs then I do hope the specifics of the contract aren’t made public – let’s face it we don’t want our rivals to know what amount of cash we have to spend or whether our wages structure has been changed.
I’m sure it’ll be leaked/made up anyway.
lesh
May 22, 2019 at 5:41 AM
Comment #27Dubai
The Moraes links been mentioned I’m the Chronic and probably on here. Maybe not though.
There’s too much politics on here at times and we can’t see the rumours because of it!
The next Mike Williamson
May 22, 2019 at 6:04 AM
Comment #28Dubai,
The sad thing about league predictions is that almost everyman and his dog almost got the twenty teams in order. I’m going to check my predictions in a moment, but off the top of my head only Newcastle who I optimisticly had in 7-8th, west ham who I had somewhere in the bottom 5, and Fulham surprised me. Each year the league becomes more predictable.
Jib
May 22, 2019 at 6:48 AM
Comment #29Not seen this mentioned in the UK media
Zidane since the turn of the year has been
using right winger Lucas Vazquez as merely an impact
sub and LV is not happy.
One of Rafa’s first actions at Madrid was to buyback the winger
from Espanyol – they have a great relationship.
He’s available for €20M and we have enquired about him
Jib
May 22, 2019 at 6:53 AM
Comment #30“lesh
Dubai
The Moraes links been mentioned I’m the Chronic and probably on here. Maybe not though.”
It’s quite concerning how blinkered posters like Lesh are –
while pretending to be interested in footy they clearly never
read the articles that Ed and Neil put so much effort into.
http://www.nufcblog.com/2019/05/20/report-rafa-benitez-after-a-new-center-forward-target/
toon22
May 22, 2019 at 6:54 AM
Comment #31It’s kinda pointless speculating who we might pretend to sign when we are soon to have no manager
I expect nothing to happen till the start of July at best
Can’t have too long to sign people,it’s expensive
Best hang on and wait till the end of July
😉
toon22
May 22, 2019 at 6:55 AM
Comment #32JIB
Hiya KBA
Jib
May 22, 2019 at 7:04 AM
Comment #33How is this for delicious irony
Zidane has ended the season with the worst
points total at RM since season 2001/2002
Who won La Liga then ?
Valencia and Rafa Benitez.
Are you reading Catchy ?
Jib
May 22, 2019 at 7:05 AM
Comment #34Anyone hear a mosquito buzzing around the blog ?
lesh
May 22, 2019 at 7:09 AM
Comment #35Jiblets
You’re being a smartarse already eh?
Thankfully and seemingly unlike you, I haven’t the time or the inclination look back through posts.
welshgeordie9
May 22, 2019 at 7:10 AM
Comment #36Well if Zidanes not going to play bale anymore, why don’t we bring the Welsh wizard to St James Park, Rafa wants money and finish high next season, why not start the transfer window with a bang.
Jib
May 22, 2019 at 7:11 AM
Comment #37Lesh you are a fake , and a phoney
It doesn’t make you a bad person just
a bit of a knob.
Jib
May 22, 2019 at 7:14 AM
Comment #38welshgeordie9
Welcome back
Gareth loves Madrid – the city and the club
Most of the Spanish media think if he sticks it out
he’ll outlast Zidane
welshgeordie9
May 22, 2019 at 7:19 AM
Comment #39Jib
There have been rumours that somethings happened between the two
of them and that’s why Zidane doesn’t or won’t pick him, i would sign him in a flash.
martoon
May 22, 2019 at 7:21 AM
Comment #40chicousa @24 – I think that is a rehash of the Italian rumour because I think Tuttosport was the original source – I’m taking it with a pinch of salt!