Newcastle United have held talks with Manchester United over a potential move for Axel Tuanzebe, according to The Daily Telegraph.
What’s the latest Newcastle United transfer news?
With Florian Lejeune now having left St James’ Park on a permanent basis, Steve Bruce does have room for another central defender and has worked with the 23-year-old before while at Aston Villa.
Tuanzebe is understood to be able for a move as the Old Trafford giants close in on a deal for Raphael Varane with both a permanent and a loan proposal discussed.
Bruce is said to be pushing top brass for a much-needed breakthrough in the transfer market ahead of the new season and, given the financial constraints the club look likely to be working under this summer, a temporary transfer does look more realistic.
Would he be a good signing for Newcastle?
At this point, it’d be hard not to come in and give this squad a boost.
As the takeover saga takes another unwanted turn and a deal for Joe Willock remains up in the air, new faces would surely help lift the mood somewhat ahead of the new season.
Aside from that, Tuanzebe is a young central defender to have made 19 appearances for one of the biggest clubs in the world last season. Able to operate as either a full-back or more centrally, he’s been noted for his pace, which is certainly something Newcastle’s backline lack.
Furthermore, according to FBREF data, his average of 13.01 pressing actions per game rank him within the top 92 percentile of centre-backs across Europe’s major five leagues and his 2.65 blocks over the same period sees him rank within the top 99%.
Granted, that may be skewed by his lack of regular game time somewhat but, still, they are promising statistics.
