It has now been claimed that Newcastle United could be interested in France international defensive midfielder Youssouf Fofana from Monaco.
While talk of Newcastle signing Sandro Tonali dominates Newcastle fans’ thoughts today, Jac Talbot has now claimed that the Magpies could also be looking at 24-year-old defensive midfielder, Youssouf Fofana.
Writing for Football Transfers, Talbot has claimed that Newcastle have identified Fofana as a possible target.
Fofana looks like Newcastle’s Plan B to Tonali’s Plan A
Fofana plays in the same position as Sandro Tonali so it’s likely that Fofana would be a back-up option of the Tonali move fails, but he doesn’t look like a bad option to have.
Former Arsenal favourite Cesc Fabregas is a big admirer of his former Monaco teammate, backing him for a big move saying: “I would like to see Fofana at Bayern or Liverpool“.
Having played in a World Cup final, Fofana certainly has the type of elite level experience Newcastle are after, even if he took an unusual route to get here.
Fofana is good friends with Moussa Diaby
According to The Guardian it wasn’t all that long ago that Fofana was delivering pizzas before he finally got his big break in football. At 15 he was slinging dough while he watched his best friend, Moussa Diaby being picked up by PSG, but he never gave up.
While Tonali is still the more exciting option, and a priority for Newcastle, Fofana isn’t a bad Plan B. He made 47 appearances for Monaco last season chipping in with a couple of goals and assists.
His FBref stats are mostly green. While not hitting the top 10% in any metric for similar players across the big five leagues, he’s excellent in terms of progressive carries and passes as well as interceptions landing within the top 15% across the three metrics.
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