Newcastle target hoping to sign in "days not weeks"

Debuchy looking for a way out of Lille Mathieu Debuchy has reiterated his desire to leave Lille and hopes for a conclusion to be reached in "days and not weeks" as he looks to test himself in another league.

However he revealed that Lille are looking for a replacement before letting him go, which is frustrating the 26-year-old France international.

Newcastle and Inter Milan have both been credited with interest in Debuchy, something that he confirms below, and there has even been news of a bit from Newcastle which was rejected by the Lille board. Debuchy though is hoping that Lille are looking for a reasonable fee stating the fact that he is just a defender and probably won't attract the huge fee that Lille are looking for.

"This is one of my priorities," he told L'Equipe when asked about interest from Newcastle. "Inter also enquired about me," he added as he distanced himself from a move to Inter Milan.

"Lille can refuse any insufficient offers. The clubs must reach an agreement. That is not yet the case. Newcastle have already proposed €5 million. I do not know how much the directors of Lille are seeking. I am a defender. An extraordinary offer cannot be expected."

Debuchy then stated his desire to leave Lille and denied recent reports which suggested that he was willing to sign a contract extension at Stade Lille-Metropole.

"My wish is to leave. I want to experience another league. I recently read that I would have extended my contract until 2016. This upset me. It is not true. I hope that in the coming days, and not weeks, things will settle," he said.

"I want to leave LOSC. The coach wants to keep me here, but I will not change my mind. I still keep that hope. I will try to go elsewhere."

He added: "Right now I'm stuck at Lille, depending on the arrival of another player. LOSC want to find my replacement before I am released."

"Ten, 15 players have been suggested but I am still here, and it disappoints and bothers me. It's been 20 years that I have been here and I have never asked for anything. For once I want to discover something else."

Sounds like this particular deal isn't too far away from happening anyway...