According to RMC Sport (Transfer Live blog, 8:56am, January 31, 2022), Newcastle United have placed a bid for West Ham United central defender Issa Diop. The bid is said to be around €8 million (£6.65m).
The Magpies were linked with the £67,000-a-week (Spotrac) defender earlier in the window. French outlet L’Equipe reported they placed a bid between £8.3 million- £10.3 million.
However, Football.London reported that the Hammers would reject any bid to come from the Toon Army. West Ham has had quite a few injuries to their defensive line. Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna have both picked injuries.
Despite Burn’s arrival being imminent, Newcastle are looking for another centre-back
Dan Burn is set to arrive in Newcastle very soon. He’s set to have a medical after a fee was agreed of around £13 million (Sky Sports). It appears that the club is hoping to bring in another centre-back before the window shuts tonight.
Bringing in another centre-back certainly won’t have some fans complaining. It’s certainly their weakest part on the pitch. So if Diop were to arrive as well as Burn from Brighton, it would provide some depth.
There’s been discussion that Middlesbrough is considering signing Ciaran Clark. That’s according to sports journalist Peter O’Rourke. The departure of Clark would open up a slot in the squad for a new defender like Diop to slot into.
The arrival of Diop would definitely provide a boost to the defensive options on Tyneside. At this stage, anyone is better than no one.
However, this could well depend on whether Clark departs. Additionally, West Ham will be reluctant to sell. Should they bring in another centre-back, then perhaps a move for Diop could occur.
There are obstacles in the way for a move for Diop. But should everything fall into place, who knows? Two centre-backs arriving on Tyneside would be great for Newcastle. Hopefully, it will improve a currently woeful defence.
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