An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Jules Kounde in the summer transfer window.
What's the talk?
Daily Star journalist Paul Brown has revealed that the Magpies are keen on a deal to sign the defender, with PIF now plotting a swoop to beat Chelsea to his signature.
He Tweeted: "Sevilla sporting director Monchi on CFC interest in Kounde: "They have to look for two or three central defenders. They don't have many, but there are also more English clubs and clubs from other countries that are looking for central defenders."
Brown ended the tweet by saying: "NUFC also interested."
It has previously been reported that the Spanish outfit may be willing to part ways with him for a fee in the region of £60m, whilst his release clause is €90m (£76.6m).
Imagine him & Sven Botman
By securing a deal to sign Kounde, Newcastle can form a rock-solid centre-back partnership by playing him next to Sven Botman.
The Magpies signed the Dutch defender from Lille earlier this summer and PIF can now find him an excellent partner at the back.
Spanish football expert Euan McTear previously hailed Kounde, saying: "He’s still so young, he’s got energy, great positioning too. All the centre-backs, not just in Spain I think, but if you look around Europe, he’s got to be one of the highest prospects."
Football Espana editor Alan Feehely dubbed him a "baller" and European football analyst, Marcus Bring described him as "sensational", which shows that he has been catching the eye in La Liga in recent seasons.
His statistics in the 2021/22 campaign suggest that he deserves praise for his displays, as you can see in the graphic below...
The Frenchman also enjoyed a strong campaign in 2020/21 as he averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.08 in La Liga, winning 61% of his duels.
This shows that the 23-year-old has the quality to perform to a high-level week-in-week-out in a major European league, which is something Botman has also proven himself to have.
In the 2021/22 Ligue 1 campaign, the former Ajax man averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.10 as he won 66% of his individual battles. He also averaged a score of 7.08 in the previous term - proving that he is not a one-season wonder.
Therefore, both players are young, consistent, strong, centre-backs and can form the backbone of Eddie Howe's team for many years to come.
PIF must now work hard to beat off interest from Chelsea in order to land a deal for the Sevilla defender before the end of the window.