Sunday morning has brought news that Newcastle United are now close to completing an agreement to buy Matias Fernandez-Pardo.
An exclusive from Foot Mercarto reports that there has been a breakthrough in talks between Lille and Newcastle United.
They state that their information is that United have now really progressed their discussions with the Ligue 1 club and have now offered an amount that is very close to what Lille are prepared to accept for their 21-year-old attacking star.
The situation between Matias Fernandez-Pardo and the French club has surely become untenable with the Belgium international having made clear that he wants to leave.
Foot Mercato now making clear that it appears the player is set to get his wish.
The transfer window in both France and England closes on Tuesday night, with Newcastle United now seemingly determined to make their eighth summer signing.
On Monday it was reported in France that Newcastle United had made a bid to buy Matias Fernandez-Pardo. L’Équipe stated that they’d been told that Newcastle United had offered €40m (approx £34.2m) plus an unspecified sum of potential future-add-ons.
Last (2025/26) season saw a huge breakthrough year for Matias Fernandez-Pardo as he helped Lille to third place in Ligue 1, starting 27 league matches and scoring eight goals plus getting five assists. That breakthrough league season saw the 21-year-old also suddenly selected for the World Cup finals and after making his debut for Belgium in a friendly in June, he went on to play in this summer’s tournament and now has five international caps.
Then on Thursday, Lille banned the Newcastle United transfer target from training or playing for the time being…
Lille manager Davide Ancelotti announcing about Matias Fernandez-Pardo on Thursday 27 August: “I have decided, in consultation with the club, that he’ll no longer train with the squad until the end of the transfer window…I am focusing on the players who are available for tomorrow’s match [against PSG] and who are training with us.”
It sounded very much like a situation that had become impossible and it very much sounded like ‘Matias Fernandez-Pardo will no longer train with the Lille squad until he is sold…’
The reality as well was that even before the ‘banned’ announcement, Matias Fernandez-Pardo wasn’t in the matchday squad last Sunday for their opening league match, a 2-0 win away at Angers. Then after the ‘banned’ declaration he also missed Friday’s 2-2 draw with PSG.
If Matias Fernandez-Pardo does indeed sign for Newcastle United, the rumours that United could then loan out Nick Woltemade to an Italian club, probably Napoli, could then well become reality in my opinion.