Newcastle United want a January move for PSV Eindhoven midfielder Ibrahim Sangare, according to The Mail.
The 24-year-old has made 66 appearances for the Eredivisie giants since joining from Ligue 1 side Toulouse on a five-year deal in 2020.
The defensive midfielder had only scored three goals from 125 club appearances prior to this season, but he already has four goals to his name in this campaign from 27 matches across all competitions.
Sangare has been named in the Ivory Coast squad that will be competing in the African Cup of Nations over the coming weeks.
He was linked with a transfer to Southampton in the summer of 2020 by Sky Sports before opting to join PSV instead in a £8.2 million deal.
Should Newcastle pursue Ibrahim Sangare?
The man who has been capped 17 times for the nation nicknamed the Elephants would certainly add some much-needed steel to Newcastle’s midfield.
Sangare currently averages 3.2 tackles per game in the Eredivisie, only Milan van Ewijk (3.4) and Pol Llonch (3.6) average more, according to WhoScored.
PSVs number six also currently sits third for the average number of interceptions per game (2.4) in the Dutch top-flight.
Eager to break up the play and protect his team’s defence, penetrating through Newcastle’s lines has been far too easy at times, but the addition of the robust Sangare could give our leaky defence a greater screening with his physicality.
Not afraid to put his foot in and commit to the tackle, Sangare also sits in the Eredivisie top ten for the average number of fouls he commits per game (1.7).
The Ivorian has already been sent off twice in four Europa League games so far this season.
Roger Schmidt’s PSV side may have failed to qualify for the Europa League knockout stages, but they drop down into the UEFA Conference League and will fancy their chances of going far in the inaugural competition.
Domestically, PSV sit top of the Eredivisie, one point above reigning champions Ajax following the conclusion of the winter break.
With Sangare’s PSV contract running until 2025, Newcastle’s Saudi-led consortium will probably have to play considerably more than the £8m PSV forked out 18 months ago.
Similar to his late compatriot and former Newcastle legend Cheick Tiote, Sangare would bolster our midfield, but with him away at the African Cup of Nations and PSV chasing both domestic and European success this season, brokering a deal in January could prove difficult.
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