Newcastle United reportedly made a late behind-the-scenes effort to try to sign Boubacar Kamara before the summer transfer window shut.
The Lowdown: Offer made
According to Le Phoceen, the North East club made a last-minute offer for Kamara on Transfer Deadline Day.
However, as per The Athletic, he decided that he wanted to stay at Marseille in the end, despite getting offers from both the St. James' Park faithful as well as Wolves.
The Latest: Proposal
As per L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), both the Tyneside outfit and Marseille made behind-the-scenes efforts to transfer Kamara.
The Ligue 1 team's president Pablo Longoria tried to 'speed things up' with the Magpies, and the deal proposed was an initial loan fee of €2.5m with an obligation to buy set at €15m, which totals €17.5m (£15m).
However, Kamara was 'not convinced' about joining Steve Bruce's side, and thus 'preferred to stay' at Marseille.
The Verdict: What could have been
Of course, missing out on a player so close to the deadline is annoying for any team, none more so than the Toon, who have only managed to bring in one permanent player of note in Joe Willock from Arsenal.
Kamara has started off the new Ligue 1 season well, winning no fewer than 3.3 of his duels per game, in addition to averaging 1.7 tackles and 1.7 key passes per match (Sofascore).
Nonetheless at just 21 years of age, the Frenchman would have been a tidy investment for the future.
In other news, find out why NUFC's move for this Premier League ace failed here!