Things are falling apart left, right and center, while Lille are once again smiling and rubbing their hands, having fleeced the English for the second time in five days! Last Thursday, Manchester City splashed the cash on the club from northern France, paying as much as 95 million euros for Moroccan midfielder Ayoub Bouaddi, making him Lille’s biggest-ever outgoing transfer. But that wasn’t the end of it. Now it was Newcastle’s turn to get fleeced — Matías Fernandez-Pardo for 60 million euros. Newcastle were testing the waters, initially approaching the Ligue 1 side with an offer of 45 million and receiving a negative response. It was too little for the Belgian forward, who can play anywhere across the front line. Lille were asking for as much as 70 million, but they didn’t quite get that much…We are delighted to announce the signing of Matias Fernandez-Pardo for an undisclosed fee.The 21-year-old Belgium international forward joins on a long-term contract and becomes the club's eight first team arrival of a transformative summer transfer window. 🙌🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/SvGU6jPCwz— Newcastle United (@NUFC) September 1, 2026 At St James’ Park, they sensed they could snatch Pardo for a slightly lower price. They submitted a new offer of 60 million; Matías Fernandez-Pardo expressed his desire for a change of scenery, and that prompted Lille’s hierarchy to lower their demands. They didn’t need an unhappy first-team player, and the money was good. More than good, in fact, because the French club will also receive certain bonuses on top of the aforementioned sum. Same colours, different vibe: Newcastle's £69m record signing gets unexpected Juve escape routeAs far as the fixed fee is concerned, when you add up the transfers of Ayoub Bouaddi and Matías Fernandez-Pardo, plus Hugo Ragoube’s move to Burnley, Lille have taken a staggering 160 million euros from clubs across the Channel this transfer window alone! On top of that, they have made two smaller sales worth a combined 2.5 million. Matías Fernandez-Pardo joined Lille from Gent two years ago in a transfer worth 11.5 million and had a contract until June 2029. He has now signed a five-year deal with Newcastle, and that was the transfer which sealed Nick Woltemade’s transfer to Juventus as the German became surplus to requirements. ##NAJAVA_MECA_9930301##
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