Newcastle United have been linked with a move for Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma.
The 25-year-old is in the last 18 months of his contract, and, according to the Daily Mail, he ‘is open to a move away’.
Bissouma is currently on international duty with Mali at the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon and his performances in the winter tournament could see his stock rise even further.
The Magpies reportedly face competition from Aston Villa for the midfielder, who joined Brighton from Lille in 2018 and has become a vital cog in Graham Potter’s side on the south coast.
Bissouma has played over 100 games for the Seagulls and at the age of 25 is yet to enter his footballing prime.
Alongside Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi, Bissouma (3.6) is currently averaging the most tackles per game in the Premier League, according to WhoScored.
Bissouma also sits in the top 10 for the number of interceptions he is making per game (1.9).
With a rating of 7.13, Bissouma is currently rated as Brighton’s best player of the season so far, where only Leandro Trossard (1.8) averages more dribbles per game than Brighton’s number eight (1.7).
Averaging nearly one shot per game (0.9), the box-to-box midfielder would be a quality addition to Eddie Howe’s side and would inject some much-needed stability to our spine.
However, according to The Athletic, it would take a fee around £50million to convince Brighton to cash in on their influential midfield star.
The likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal have all been previously linked with the man who has established himself as one of the top midfielders in Europe.
It was only last April that Potter referred to Bissouma’s “incredible” potential and talented, and he felt Bissouma has the attributes ‘to play midfield in any game in the world’.
Yves Bissouma would be a quality addition for Newcastle, but there will be a host of European clubs chasing his signature.
Some teams may be put off the £50m price tag and if we do beat the drop and Bissouma hasn’t moved in the January transfer window then a summer move cannot be ruled out.
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