NEWCASTLE UNITED have made a £19m approach for Alexandre Lacazette, but face a significant battle to persuade the Lyon striker to move to St James’ Park.

Leading French daily L’Equipe reported Newcastle’s interest this morning, and claimed two senior Magpies officials travelled to France to meet with Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas.

That meeting is understood to have ended with the Newcastle delegation confirming the club’s willingness to strike a deal worth around €25m for Lacazette.

The 24-year-old has long been one of the Magpies’ leading targets, and the club considered signing the striker in the summer, only for Lyon’s valuation to force them to look elsewhere.

However, their admiration for the forward’s qualities has not disappeared, and with the need for a new centre-forward during the current transfer window glaringly apparent, it is no surprise to see Newcastle’s recruitment team returning to one of their longest-standing targets.

Lacazette has scored six Ligue 1 goals this season, and while Aulas remains reluctant to sell his club’s leading attacking asset, the size of Newcastle’s offer means it was not dismissed out of hand.

Persuading Lacazette to move Tyneside might be even more difficult than persuading the Lyon hierarchy to sell him however, with the France international concerned that switching leagues halfway through the season could damage his prospects of appearing at this summer’s European Championships.

Lacazette has won ten senior caps for France, but is not regarded as a certainty to be included in Didier Deschamps’ final 23-man squad for this summer’s tournament.

His performances in the next four months will be crucial to his prospects of representing his nation on home soil, and Newcastle will face a difficult battle to persuade him that his chances would be best served by moving to a side currently 18th in the Premier League.