Newcastle United midfielder Mohamed Diame is on course to extend his stay at St James Park beyond 2019 due to a clause in his current contract, according to the Chronicle.
The regional newspaper claim that the 31-year-old’s current £45,000-a-week deal (Source: Spotrac) is due to expire in the summer but that he could trigger an extension by playing a specific number of games this season.
The Chronicle report that Diame, who has featured in all of his side’s Premier League outings this season, is therefore set to win a new deal if he keeps up his current appearance rate.
OPINION
Diame has struggled all season and yet it looks like he will be sticking around at St James Park. The central midfielder has been well below par in the majority of his 11 appearances this season and it’s absurd that a prior agreement could see his deal automatically extended. Diame was impressive in the second half of the 1-0 win over Watford on Saturday, but 45 minutes of good work doesn’t make you forget his previous efforts this season. Rafa Benitez would have dropped Diame earlier in this campaign if he had more options to choose from, so it’s like the veteran is benefitting from his side having a small squad in order to get a new deal. However if the midfielder that turned up in the second half against Watford or the one that impressed in the first part of 2019 resurfaces and consistently appears in the coming weeks, then perhaps it will be justified to see Diame get a fresh deal.
