Magpies' Make £8M Bid For Rangers Ace Boumsong
By Matthew Jones
December 15 2004
It is understood that Newcastle United have made an £8 million bid for Rangers defender, Jean-Alain Boumsong. Boumsong is a top target of manager Graeme Souness who plans to concentrating on 'upgrading' the Magpies' defence in the January transfer market - and it looks like the Scot has made a bid.
All Souness has said is: "I can confirm we've been in touch with Rangers.
"I can confirm he is one of the players we would like at this club but, at the end of the day, he is contracted to Rangers.
"He is their player as we speak, so it would be wrong for me to go into any more depth and tell you more than that."
Boumsong himself, said: "No other great clubs were interested in me. However, I was on a free transfer until Rangers offered me a five-year contract.
"At that time, I lived a period with great stress due to personal troubles.
"Moreover, my collapsed transfer to Liverpool disgusted me. And I wanted to go to Euro 2004 in Portugal with a free state of mind.
"Rangers' words were clear and frank. I knew it was a good choice.
"Now the Englishmen know me much better after six months in Scotland than after six years in Ligue 1."