Nantes rebuff Newcastle's bid for Simon as they hold out for nothing less than £20m

ENGLISH Premier League giants Newcastle United have had a bid for Super Eagles winger Simon Moses rejected by his French club Nantes who have made it clear that he is going nowhere unless their £20m asking price is met.

Way back in 2020, Newcastle had planned a €17m bid for Simon but the deal failed to materialise that year. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is also said to be a big fan of Simon and at ions stage, there was said to be a three-way bidding war for the winger between Newcastle, Leeds and Liverpool.

However, Nantes have made it crystal clear that they would not sell the winger for anything else than £20m. Simon is widely expected to leave during this transfer window as he has rejected the club's new contract and his current deal will only have a year left to run at the end of the season.

Newcastle will now have to up their offer of they still want the winger, as Simon is currently attracting a lot of attention. He is currently enjoying a good season in France with five goals and two assists in just 15 games, which compares with him scoring six goals in 30 matches last season.

Able to operate across the frontline, Simon has been described as more of a winger than an inside forward but stylistically he is more an inside forward than a winger. Unlike the pure winger, he starts on the wrong side and unlike an inside forward, he is not as focused on either taking up goalscoring positions or creating shots for himself.

Last January, Leeds United sought to bring Moses to the English Premier League but again, Nantes refused to sell. Simon joined Nantes permanently in 2020 for €5m from Spanish La Liga side Levante following an impressive year on loan.