Newcastle United defender Chancel Mbemba is set to seal a move to FC Porto within 48 hours, according to HLN.
The Belgian newspaper state that according to their Portuguese source the Magpies centre-back, who earns £35,000-a-week at St James Park (source: Spotrac), is very close to joining Porto.
HLN report that the Portuguese giants are in advanced talks with the Magpies and Mbemba about a move and state that a deal could be completed today or tomorrow.
OPINION
This would be fantastic news if Mbemba was able to seal his exit from St James Park within the next couple of days as it would free up the wage budget at the club. The 23-year-old enforcer never really got a look in last season at the club as Rafa Benitez only opted to play him nine times in the league despite not having a massive squad. This means that his loss will have no great impact on the team’s quality as he was hardly seen and the club can move quickly on with their transfer priorities with his exit sealed. It’s interesting that a team as prestigious as Porto have made a move for him as maybe they see something in him that Benitez has failed to realise. HLN’s report also shares that even though Belgian side Anderlecht were interested in signing the defender a deal was seemingly impossible for them to complete. It’s unknown why that was the case but it’s easy to guess that it might have something to do with his wage demands.
