Newcastle United have reached an agreement with Lille for Belgian forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo, securing the attacking signing head coach Matthias Jaissle had wanted for much of the summer.
The 21-year-old is now set to fly to England for a medical before completing the move to St James’ Park.
How Newcastle Finally Get The Deal Over The Line
Newcastle’s interest in Fernandez-Pardo was never a secret. Talks date back to May, when the club first contacted him after he spent the previous season forcing his way into Lille’s first XI. The opening bids fell well short of Lille’s asking price.
An offer in the €40-45 million range, made through intermediaries in mid-August, was quickly rejected, with the French club initially demanding closer to €70-75 million.
Newcastle changed their approach. Jaissle’s recruitment team moved to close the gap instead of waiting for Lille to lower their demands. According to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, the breakthrough took the fee to a guaranteed €60 million.
Around £52 million, plus performance-related add-ons. Several clubs had shown interest in Fernandez-Pardo. Liverpool and RB Leipzig were both linked with the forward earlier in the window, while Atlético Madrid had a lower bid rejected in July.
None of those approaches led to a deal once Newcastle showed they were willing to meet Lille’s demands. Newcastle had also explored Stuttgart’s Bilal El Khannouss as an alternative for the position, but their focus remained on Fernandez-Pardo.
Why Did Lille Let Their Top Scorer Leave On Deadline Day?
Fernandez-Pardo had made his desire to leave clear well before Newcastle’s move materialised. He had been pushing for an exit for much of the summer, and Lille responded publicly. Lille pulled him from first-team training and matchday squads altogether.
He was left out entirely for the trip to face PSG on 28 August, a decision manager Davide Ancelotti confirmed. “I have decided, in consultation with the club, that he’ll no longer be part of the squad,” he told reporters.
With their top scorer out of the squad and his future unresolved, Lille had less reason to keep demanding a fee that few clubs were willing to pay. Lille had already signed Japan international Ayase Ueda from Feyenoord earlier in the window as cover for Fernandez-Pardo.
Lille signed Fernandez-Pardo from Gent for around €10 million two years ago, meaning the Newcastle deal is worth roughly six times what they paid.
Why Newcastle Signed Matias Fernandez-Pardo
The signing fills the gap left by Anthony Gordon, who joined Barcelona earlier in the window after establishing himself as one of Newcastle’s most productive attackers. Anthony Elanga has started the season well on the flank.
But Jaissle wanted more quality in the final third and did not want to rely solely on him. The arrival could also affect Nick Woltemade’s future. TEAMtalk reports that Newcastle are now more open to letting the forward leave after initially planning to build their attack around him under Jaissle.
The German has struggled to establish himself since, and his departure would create room for another forward in Newcastle’s reshaped attack. Fernandez-Pardo is expected to sign a five-year contract once the paperwork is completed.
