Newcastle are set to go for Southampton’s Mohammed Salisu

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Newcastle United are poised to swoop for Southampton’s Mohammad Salisu in the summer after looking at him during Eddie Howe’s first transfer window at the club.

Howe is said to be a big fan of Salisu has set his sights on the 23-year-old Ghanaian centre-back again, according to The Mirror. Newcastle had tried signing Salisu back in January 2022, but no move materialised.

Southampton are fighting for their Premier League lives this season and were they to be relegated the vultures would no doubt swoop in to pick off the choice cuts of meat. Newcastle could well be at the front of that queue with a bid for Salisu who has continued to impress even in such a lacklustre side.

Salisu is a diamond in the rough

So far this season, Salisu has featured in 22 of Southampton’s Premier League games and has even managed to chip in with an assist from centre-back. He’s got a 78% pass completion rate and according to infogol, his average rating this season has been 6.47 which, considering he’s often been on the losing side, is a respectable score. For comparison, Fabian Schar‘s average is 6.93, not that far ahead.

Toon legend, Alan Shearer once referred to Salisu as ‘rock solid‘ when choosing him as part of his team of the week for the Premier League.

Salisu also broke into the Ghana national side making three appearances at the World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year.

His contract situation should make things easier for Newcastle

At just 23 and with nearly 70 Premier League games under his belt already, he’s definitely the type of player that Howe is looking to bring into the club, so regardless of Southampton‘s league status come the end of this season, it’s still a high possibility that Newcastle could make their move.

Salisu’s contract expires in the summer of 2024, so Newcastle shouldn’t have to break the bank to sign him, but if Southampton want to recoup some of the £10.9m they paid Real Valladolid for his services, they’d be best of cashing in this summer rather than risk losing him for free in a year’s time.