An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Tiemoue Bakayoko in the summer transfer window...
What's the talk?
Calcio Mercato journalist Daniele Longo has claimed that the Magpies are keen on the French midfielder.
The Italian outlet claims that the club have a 'strong interest' in the central player, whilst fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest are also keen on him.
It is stated that Milan wants to end his loan spell from Chelsea one year early and that would allow Newcastle to snap him up from Stamford Bridge, although it remains to be seen how much it would cost to sign him.
Journalist Dean Jones recently claimed that the club could make a move for a player in that area of the pitch, telling GIVEMESPORT:
“Throughout the summer, I’ve been told that there’s still a probable scenario where they bid for a central midfielder as well. So, I’m not going to rule that out.”
Imagine him & Joelinton
Imagine a midfield including Bakayoko and Joelinton at their best; it is a worrying prospect for opposition midfielders as both players are powerful, ball-winning machines at the peak of their powers.
The Guardian's Paul Doyle described the Frenchman as a player with spectacular potential back in 2017 and former Chelsea TV employee Jake Heasman dubbed him a "monster" for his performances.
That seemingly echoes that of Joelinton, who has also been dubbed a "monster" and a "machine" in the last 18 months after being converted into a box-to-box midfielder.
The Brazilian powerhouse has made 3.5 tackles and interceptions per game in the Premier League this season, after averaging 3.1 in the 2021/22 campaign.
Bruno Guimaraes (3.3) is the only Toon midfielder with a higher average contribution this term and no player in that position made more tackles and interceptions per game than the ex-Hoffenheim man last season.
This shows that he is adept at breaking up opposition attacks by winning tackles and reading the game effectively to intercept passes.
Bakayoko falls into the same category. He struggled for game time, starting five league matches, in 2021/22 but caught the eye in 2020/21 for Napoli in the Serie A as he made 3.3 tackles and interceptions per match and won 63% of his individual duels, which shows that he does not get bullied off the ball.
The 28-year-old also has a year of Premier League experience under his belt from the 2017/18 campaign with Chelsea. He made 3.5 tackles and interceptions per outing but made four errors directly leading to shots or goals.
Newcastle could now gamble on the £93k-per-week talent learning from that spell and being able to maintain the defensive ballast whilst ridding his performances of the errors that blighted his Blues career.
Now, imagine Bakayoko and Joelinton bullying opposition teams with their ability to win the ball back on a consistent basis, cutting out attacks and creating counters for the Magpies to utilise going forward. It's a mouth-watering thought for the Toon Army.