Newcastle United host Brighton and Hove Albion at St. James' Park this evening in a crucial match in the battle to secure Champions League football for next season.
The Magpies can move four points clear of Liverpool in fifth with a victory and that would leave them needing one win from their last t games to guarantee a spot in Europe's premier cup competition.
Qualifying for the Champions League could play an important role in the club's summer transfer business as their participation in the tournament could persuade players to make the switch to Tyneside, given that they can offer elite-level football.
One signing that Eddie Howe and Dan Ashworth could splash out on is reported target Khephren Thuram.
Foot Mercato recently claimed that Nice could demand as much as €60m (£52m) for the French international, who is also attracting interest from Liverpool and Manchester City.
How has Khephren Thuram performed this season?
The 22-year-old central midfielder, who made his national team debut in March, has been in excellent form in Ligue 1 and could arrive in England as a big upgrade on current Toon ace Sean Longstaff.
Thuram's creativity, progressive play, and defensive contributions could improve Howe's midfield, based on his displays in the French top-flight this term.
The ace has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.04 across 35 outings in the division and provided 1.1 key passes per game, which has resulted in nine 'big chances' being created.
Meanwhile, Longstaff has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.74 across 32 Premier League matches. The Magpies academy graduate has made 0.6 key passes per appearance and created six 'big chances' for his teammates, which suggests that the Nice dynamo has the edge over him in that department.
On the ball, Thuram has also showcased his forward-thinking mentality and quality to break opposition lines by completing 7.92 progressive passes and progressive carries per 90 combined over the last 365 days, whilst the Englishman has only managed 4.86 per 90 in the English top-flight over the same period of time.
This means that the Frenchman is driving his team forward and providing more penetration with his use of the ball than Longstaff, which could speed up Newcastle's attack and allow them to break down the opposition more frequently in matches.
Finally, the midfield machine has made 2.6 tackles and interceptions per game and won 50% of his duels in Ligue 1 this season, whilst the Toon gem has made 1.8 and lost 53% of his physical contests in the Premier League in 2022/23.
These statistics suggest that Thuram, who was once hailed as a "tenacious" tackler by scout Jacek Kulig, would be an upgrade on Longstaff in a number of different aspects, in and out of possession.
The 22-year-old could instantly improve Howe's midfield in terms of the creativity and ball progression he provides whilst also being an anchor in front of the defence to cut out opposition attacks, which could free up the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton to push further on and into the final third.