OPINION
Newcastle United must go all out to sign Stoke City midfielder Badou Ndiaye this summer as there are few better players they could sign for £16million.
According to the latest report by the Chronicle, the Magpies are yet to make their interest in the powerful 27-year-old concrete despite having kept an eye on him over the last six months.
The newspaper state that Rafa Benitez has been impressed with what he has witnessed and that the Potters could look to loan out Ndiaye or sell him for a fee in the region of £16million.
It is believed that as Ndiaye is set to return from the World Cup shortly as his nation, Senegal, were recently eliminated from the tournament, his exit from the Potters is now expected to pick up pace.
This must see the Magpies’ pursuit of the central midfielder go into overdrive in order to ensure he arrives at St James Park this summer as a host of clubs are no doubt ready to try to sign him for themselves.
Ndiaye is a midfielder more than capable of replacing Mikel Merino, whose exit seems inevitable, at the Magpies as the 27-year-old is able to constantly win the midfield battle for his side due to his strong tackling ability.
The Magpies may have just welcomed Ki Sung-yueng to the club on a two-year deal, as reported by the BBC, but another midfielder is still needed to bolster Benitez’s squad.
The 27-year-old impressed in the 13 Premier League appearances he made for Stoke after joining them in January and looks capable of helping any side in England’s top-flight improve their defensive quality in the middle of the park.
Ahead of turning down interest from the Magpies to join Stoke City for £14million, according to the BBC, from Galatasaray the powerhouse was consistently putting in superb performances for the Turkish giants.
The midfielder would add some much needed top-level quality to Benitez’s midfield and would therefore be a steal if the club were able to snap him up for £16million this summer.
Players of his quality, especially ones known to be capable of playing in the Premier League, often cost way above the £20million mark but it seems Stoke’s relegation from England’s top-flight will see a deal able to be done at a much lower price.
Therefore the Magpies must take this golden opportunity to improve their midfield drastically by successfully scooping up Ndiaye for £16million as he could help them progress up the league table in their 2018/19 campaign.
