Newcastle United have wrapped up a deal to sign Belgian forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo from Lille, agreeing a transfer fee of approximately €60 million plus add-ons. The agreement lands on August 31, the final day of the English transfer window, with Fernandez-Pardo set to complete a medical on Tyneside before putting pen to paper on a five-year contract.
It is a significant outlay for a player who arrived at Lille just two years ago for around €10 million.
How the deal got done
Newcastle opened negotiations with offers in the €40-45 million range, a figure Lille dismissed almost immediately given their own valuation sat between €70 million and €75 million.
Fernandez-Pardo made clear he wanted to leave, and Lille responded by pulling him from first-team training and matchday squads in late August. He was notably absent from the squad that faced PSG on August 28, a very public signal that his time at the club was ending regardless of whether a fee had been agreed.
