Newcastle in £35m battle to sign Karim Coulibaly - Report

Newcastle United are ready to do battle to sign 18-year-old defender Karim Coulibaly this summer.

The Magpies have been strongly linked with an interest in the Werder Bremen breakout star as they look to add more options to their defence.

Newcastle are on the hunt for talented young players to develop through the youth system to become first-team ready, and Karim Coulibaly could find himself with a foot in both camps.

The 18-year-old has made 24 appearances in the Bundesliga for Werder Bremen this season, so he could be an option for Newcastle to snap up and throw into the first team straight away.

Newcastle continue to monitor Karim Coulibaly

However, Bild (via Sport Witness) have reported that Newcastle would certainly have competition for Coulibaly's signature with Chelsea also interested in the young German.

Marseille and Borussia Dortmund are also tracking Coulibaly, who has been valued at €40m (£35m) by Werder.

Bild claims that it's the Premier League duo who are showing 'particularly strong' interest, so it could be one to keep an eye on.

Newcastle and Chelsea will do battle again this summer

It looks as though Newcastle could be set for another summer of fighting Chelsea for each and every target, as the Blues' name has come up alongside so many alleged targets already.

Chelsea have a knack for beating us to signings, and it doesn't seem to matter what phase of mentalness they're in. As of today, they've entered their managerless phase, but by the time the transfer window comes around, we could be back in the 'buy every player with a heartbeat' phase.

There will come a time when we turn the tide, and we become a more attractive proposition than that crazy club, but whether that's going to be this year remains to be seen.

Rumour Rating: 7/10 - This rumour has been around for a while and isn't slowing down. The noise is still mostly coming from Germany, though, so we still have doubts.