Nottingham Forest are ready to demand big money for Newcastle United transfer target Anthony Elanga.
On Tuesday, Newcastle United saw a £45million bid for Elanga rejected by Forest, who are prepared to hold out for a big fee.
In fact, Geordie Boot Boys have previously been told that Elanga could cost up to £60million this summer, such is the desire to keep him at the City Ground.
Owners PIF will not overpay for targets at St James’ Park.
Indeed, Newcastle thought Bryan Mbeumo was too expensive and recent claims from a noted transfer insider are hardly positive in regard to Elanga.
Anthony Elanga gestures to Nottingham Forest fans during their game against Leicester City at the City Ground.
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
Nottingham Forest want Bryan Mbeumo money for Anthony Elanga
According to journalist Dean Jones on social media platform X, Forest believe Elanga is worth just as much as Mbeumo and another Newcastle target in Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo.
Brentford want more than £60million for Mbeumo, while Semenyo’s price tag could be as high as £70million this summer.
That is unwelcome news for the Magpies. While Newcastle are prepared to break their transfer record this summer, it remains to be seen if they are willing to do that on Elanga.
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With the club in a strong PSR position too, there’s freedom to spend in the transfer market after having to balance the books last season.
However, that doesn’t mean they will overpay. Blowing a sizeable portion of the budget on one player may not be wise anyway, given the need to strengthen across the squad.
If PIF do not believe a player is worth the money, it seems unlikely they will sign them.
It’s hard to think of a time where Newcastle have been held to ransom, save for perhaps the first transfer window the Newcastle United owners oversaw when they desperately needed signings to avoid relegation.