Mathieu Debuchy has confirmed that Newcastle United are his 'priority' as he looks to finalise his move away from Lille.

Defender admits English move is 'priority'

Not happy

Mathieu Debuchy has confirmed that Newcastle United are his 'priority' as he looks to finalise his move away from Lille. The French international is also wanted by Italian giants Inter Milan, but Newcastle are in pole position for his signature - as Sky Sports revealed last week . The Magpies are continuing talks with Lille over a deal believed to be worth around £7million, but an agreement has not yet been finalised. Debuchy has never hidden his desire to leave the club in recent weeks but Lille had hoped to persuade him to stay for at least another year - although that now looks highly unlikely. Asked about the prospect of joining Newcastle, he told: "That is my priority, although Inter also enquired about me. "I am committed 100 per cent to the fact I want to leave Lille, I want to discover another championship. "The coach wants to keep me and I will not change his mind, but I will do everything I can to move elsewhere."Lille have stressed that they would not sell Debuchy until they had a replacement lined up - but he is becoming annoyed with that stance, claiming they have already turned down a number of possible candidates. "10, 15 players have been suggested to them and still nothing happens, there has to be some good will, it disappoints me and it bothers me," he continued. His coach Rudi Garcia maintained his stance, adding: "I know perfectly well Mathieu wants to leave. We are maybe looking for a replacement. "But my role is to find a player of the same level as Mathieu and that is not easy. "There were players I evaluated on a sporting level, but on a financial level they were out of our reach. And if we can't find any candidate, Mathieu remains under contract. "He has to put himself in our place. We need a high level replacement."