Newcastle United could help transform their club's defence by signing Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo this summer.

What's the story?

With Steve Bruce's side having sealed Premier League safety this season, all eyes will be on how the club will look to strengthen the squad ahead of the new campaign.

And, according to The Athletic, the Magpies have got their eye on the 23-year-old Adarabioyo, with the former Manchester City defender understood to be open to leaving Craven Cottage following his side's relegation.

The report does add, however, that Newcastle could face significant transfer competition for him from fellow Premier League side Arsenal.

Premier League proven

With the Magpies having conceded 62 goals this season in the Premier League - only Southampton and bottom side Sheffield United have let in more - it's no surprise the club are eyeing a move for Adarabioyo this summer.

And while the centre-back might have been playing for a Fulham side that got relegated, that certainly doesn't take away from how impressive he has been at Craven Cottage, or how good he could potentially become at Newcastle - you only have to look at Liverpool's poaching of the Magpies' own Gini Wijnaldum to see that there is plenty of top talent at sides who go down.

Having been described as a "high quality, class player" by his former boss at Blackburn, Tony Mowbray, Adarabioyo has got the kind of pedigree that could really help the Magpies out.

Mowbray said: "The reason we brought him was because of his attributes. He’s 6ft 5in, he’s very very quick, his distribution is as a good as any centre-back in the division."

And, when you look at his performances this season for Fulham and compare him to what Newcastle have currently got in terms of their centre-back options, then Adarabioyo simply blows them all away.

As per Whoscored, his combination of 1.2 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game in the top-flight is better than the likes of Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schar, Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandez, with the latter being the only one to better his tackling stats.

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The former City starlet is also significantly better than any of Newcastle's defensive options when it comes to playing out from the back, and even anyone in the entire Magpies squad - his 56.7 average passes per game at an accuracy of 85.9% would rank him top among all of the Tyneside club's players.

It's exactly why Bruce could help transform the Newcastle defence with the signing of the 23-year-old.

Meanwhile, Steve Bruce is eyeing a move for this Premier League starlet...