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Transfer Opinion: Newcastle must secure Rangers target ahead of PL rivals

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With the departures of Matty Longstaff and Nabil Bentaleb, who returned to his parent club Schalke after a loan spell in the northeast ended, Newcastle have been left light in central midfield. Steve Bruce appears to be keen to address the issue in the summer transfer window, and Jeff Hendrick has been touted as a potential target after his contract with Burnley expired.

Another name who it has been suggested the Magpies are looking at is Rangers’ midfielder, Glen Kamara. The 24-year-old is a Finnish international, having made 19 appearances, scoring once for the side who qualified for Euro 2021, which will be the countries first major international tournament.

Kamara first arrived in Scotland with Dundee, having previously represented Arsenal’s U23 side, as well as Southend United and Colchester United while out on loan. Since making the voyage north of the border, the central midfielder has appeared 77 times in the Scottish Premiership, scoring once. Kamara’s five assists in Scotland highlight how he is not typically a creative midfielder, though he does occasionally set up teammates to score.

The Scottish Premiership was abruptly halted last term, but the division recently restarted, and Kamara has featured in every minute since Rangers returned to action. The defensive midfielder has recorded 0.5 tackles per game this season, which is disappointingly low but may come as a result of Rangers dominating possession, with an average of 62.3 per cent.

Kamara has played a significant part in Rangers retaining the ball so effectively, averaging a mammoth 85.5 passes per match so far this season, with an incredible 94.7 per cent accuracy. Despite dictating play and seeing so much of the ball, the Finnish international has hardly misplaced a pass, and Newcastle will be hoping he could emulate that incredible record in the Premier League if he arrived at St James’ Park.

It is believed that multiple other clubs are circling for the midfielder, including Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Everton and Southampton from the Premier League. But it has also been suggested that Kamara is being admired by Championship sides Norwich City and Brentford, along with Dynamo Kyiv and Dinamo Moscow.

Bruce has a myriad of other clubs to contend with, but he should pursue the Rangers midfielder and attempt to secure the target ahead of Newcastle’s Premier League rivals. The fact Kamara is attracting interest from other top-flight sides is a strong suggestion he could adapt to the Premier League.

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