OPINION
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley gambled on signing Florian Lejeune last summer and must gamble again in order to sign Kasim Nuhu ahead of next season.
The businessman sanctioned the club spending £8.7million, according to Sky Sports, on Lejeune ahead of the recently concluded season and it was a gamble that proved to be a genius bit of business.
Ashley even handed the 26-year-old centre-back a five-year deal upon joining and the defender proved his worth to the club in the 24 appearances he made in his debut season.
Lejeune established himself as the ideal defensive partner for Jamaal Lascelles and their understanding looks ready to keep clean sheets on a regular basis again next season.
It was a gamble for Ashley to sign the 26-year-old, as even though the defender had spent time at Manchester City, he never actually played a game for them.
This should have had alarm bells ringing about potentially signing the centre-back as it suggested that maybe he wasn’t good enough for the Premier League.
However that has thankfully turned out not to be the case.
After seeing his gamble payoff last summer, Ashley needs to make a similar one by signing Nuhu, who will be a costly signing given the fact he has never played in the Premier League.
Blick reported on Friday that the Magpies were interested in signing the 6ft 3in tall powerhouse from Swiss side Young Boys, and that his market value was in the region of £7.5million.
Nuhu stood out as a no-nonsense defender and would be the ideal third centre-back for Rafa Benitez to be able to call upon next season, as he needs to add quality cover for Lascelles and Lejeune.
Therefore after seeing one gamble pay off, Ashley should not shy away from making another as Nuhu would prove himself to be a bargain at £7.5million even though he’s untested in England’s top-flight.
