---
title: "Kone admits he rejected Newcastle – Willems is proving it doesn’t matter"
canonical: "https://readnewcastle.com/2019/09/03/kone-admits-he-rejected-newcastle-willems-is-proving-it-doesnt-matter/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Daniel Emery"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2019-09-03T05:00:15Z"
modified: "2019-09-03T05:00:15Z"
---

# Kone admits he rejected Newcastle – Willems is proving it doesn’t matter

Lyon defender Youssouf Kone has revealed that he rejected the chance to sign for Newcastle over the summer.

The left-back signed for Lyon from Lille and has admitted that he could have joined the Premier League side instead.

> Twitter: Looks like #NUFC missed out on LB Youssouf Kone, who has joined Lyon from Lille, over the summer.
>
> “I followed Ligu… https://t.co/djbuLIfQFm (@AaronJStokes)

He claims that he would have earned more money at Newcastle, but decided that Lyon would be the better move for footballing reasons.

![Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readnewcastle.com/readnewcastle/sites/20/2019/09/476506810.jpg)

### READ NEWCASTLE VERDICT

Does it matter?

Jetro Willems would say no. The Dutch defender was brought in to provide competition at left-back this summer, perhaps as an alternative target to Kone after he rejected the Toon.

Willems is starting to catch the eye with his performances at left-back and was praised by some Newcastle fans after an impressive showing against Watford in a 1-1 draw at the weekend.

If he can continue to perform at a high level throughout the campaign, Newcastle missing out on a deal for Kone will not matter at all to Steve Bruce.