‘Contact Will Be Made’ – Newcastle United Face Competition For Werder Bremen Man | OneFootball

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Newcastle United face competition from Fenerbahce for defensive target Karim Coulibaly of Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.

Coulibaly began his youth career at HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst, before spending six years at Hamburg  beginning from 2018.

In 2024, Coulibaly was snapped up by Werder Bremen on a free transfer from Hamburg, with the defender being described as ‘athletically strong, incredibly fast, and versatile’ by Die Wederaner academy director Bjorn Schierenbeck upon signing.

Coulibaly, having made his professional debut earlier in the campaign, has quickly established himself as a fixture in the Werder Bremen side and has gone on to make 22 appearances in the Bundesliga this season.

The young defender, eligible to represent Germany and the Ivory Coast, made an appearance for the Germany Under-21s in March having steadily progressed through the national age group teams.

It has led to Coulibaly putting himself on the radar of multiple continental clubs who are seeking to reinforce their backline with a young defender.

Newcastle have been reported to be seeking reinforcements at the left centre-back position, after being linked with Fenerbahce defender Jayden Oosterwolde during the winter transfer window.

Coulibaly emerged as a summer target for the Magpies in March, with Newcastle already holding serious talks over a deal, having had earlier success with a German defender through the acquisition of Malick Thiaw last summer.

It has now emerged that Fenerbahce have joined the long list of suitors for Coulibaly and ‘contact will be made’ over a deal, according to Turkish outlet Yeni Asir (via A Spor).

Chelsea, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax have also been credited with an interest, with Gli Azzurri president Aurelio De Laurentiis understood to feel that Coulibaly ‘has a great personality and still has plenty of room for growth’.

Werder Bremen have not hesitated to take advantage of the interest in Coulibaly by slapping a €45m valuation on the young defender.

It remains to be seen how far Fenerbahce’s interest in Coulibaly goes and if he is being targeted as a replacement for Oosterwolde.

Newcastle could be set for a summer of upheaval with a number of first-team regulars being linked with a move away after a disappointing season, while manager Eddie Howe’s future too remains up in the air.