New details of ambitious Newcastle United bid revealed

The club made an offer of £29million, including add-ons, for the Reims striker, according to Jean-Pierre Caillot, the French club’s president.

However, the add-ons were a problem for Caillot, who told Le Quotidien du Sport: “It’s true that a lot have realised the quality of the player now, but not us. He was formed with us, and it does not surprise us.

“Newcastle positioned themselves, we discussed it, they made us an offer that did not suit us. As we do not really want him to leave, we have fixed the price quite high. They did offer us €35million all in, but with a number of bonuses, some of them were impossible to reach, like, for example, winning the Champions League.”

Reims, according to Caillot, are looked for a basic fee of £25million – plus £8million in “realisable” bonuses.

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