Newcastle add two Ligue 1 wingers to watchlist after trips to Monaco, Lens and Lille - Report
It's been widely reported that Paul Mitchell is keen to change Newcastle United's recruitment strategy in light of PSR and the challenges we're facing.
After last August's Marc Guehi saga, our sporting director hinted that we had to widen our search for top talent and can't afford to regularly pay a premium for proven Premier League talent.
With that in mind, it's no surprise to hear Newcastle scouts are taking a close look at the French market; a place we've shopped previously for Sven Botman (Lille) and Bruno Guimaraes (Lyon), along with a number of cut-price gems signed during Graham Carr's time on Tyneside.
Newcastle eyeing more Ligue 1 talent
Links with Lille's Jonathan David have been pretty constant over the past six months, but it seems there are two more Ligue 1 talents being tracked by Toon scouts.
Monaco duo Eliesse Ben Seghir and Maghnes Akliouche are both thought to be on the club's radar, with The Chronicle revealing that club officials have travelled to France on several occasions this season to watch potential targets.
Ben Seghir is a 19-year-old left-sided attacker, while Akliouche, 22, is a right-sided winger who recently starred at the Olympics for France. Given his previous role at Monaco and emphasis on bringing through youth stars, Mitchell will be well aware of both.
The report also states that members of our recruitment team have been hosted by Monaco, Lille and RC Lens this season during recent scouting missions.
Our visit to Lens is likely to have centred around Abdukodir Khusanov - now at Man City - while Jonathan David and Icelandic talent Hákon Arnar Haraldsson is also being tracked, according to The Mail's Craig Hope.
Monaco duo won't come cheap
Shopping abroad can offer superior value for money without that 'Premier League premium', but neither will come cheap.
The Chronicle understand that Monaco value Akliouche at £50m, with all eyes on the Frenchman after his stunning overhead kick in last weekend's 3-2 win over Rennes.
As or Ben Seghir, the Moroccan talent is thought to be valued at £25m, but there'll be plenty of competition on the continent with Barcelona and Napoli also big admirers.
If domestic moves for Bryan Mbeumo, Antoine Semenyo or Tyler Dibling don't amount to anything this summer, the likes of Akliouche or PSV's Johan Bakayoko could be ones to watch out for.
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