It is no secret that Newcastle need to improve their defence between now and the end of the January transfer window.
That means the club have been linked with a lot of central defenders since the takeover.
This is not an exhaustive list but they include Stefan de Vrij, Phil Jones, Ben Mee, James Tarkowski, Matthias Ginter, Lloyd Kelly, Steve Cook, Pontus Jansson, Nat Phillips, Tosin Adarabioyo and Maya Yoshida.
But who should Newcastle actually be targeting? We’ve picked out three linked players who would be good options…
Sven Botman
Botman has been named as one of three players who is supposedly Newcastle’s top target going into the winter window.
The Lille central defender is a Dutch Under-21 international with all the quality to go right to the top.
Could Newcastle convince him to trade the Champions League for a relegation battle mid-season? If they do, he could transform their backline.
He is a leader, a quality passer and he has good recovery speed. Botman would be a player who could stay with Newcastle throughout the rise the new regime is planning.
Niklas Sule
Sule has been linked and is apparently very close to leaving Bayern Munich in January. It is just a case of where he goes.
He is a senior Germany international and a Champions League winner who has experience of elite dressing rooms.
He is tall and physical and should take to the demands of the Premier League very well indeed if Newcastle can convince him to come.
Like Botman, there seems likely to be competition for his signature but that is to be expected with a high-quality player who wants to make a mid-season move.
Nathan Ake
One potential drawback with both Botman and Sule is that they do not have Premier League experience.
Manchester City man Nathan Ake has that and he knows Eddie Howe’s methods very well having worked under him at Bournemouth.
He is a Premier League winning defender with speed, grace and the ability to bring the ball out from the defence.
Some may point to his lack of gametime at City or the fact he and Howe were relegated together on the south coast but Ake has learned from Pep Guardiola since then and he was already a class act when he went to the north west.
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