Newcastle United are being linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund defender Dan-Axel Zagadou.
According to Foot Mercato, the Magpies are one of several teams exploring the possibility of signing the Frenchman, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
Zagadou has not played a great deal of football so far this season.
He started the campaign with an injury, but has made a couple of starts in Dortmund’s past three games.
Zagadou has been with the Bundesliga side since the summer of 2017 when he transferred from Paris Saint-Germain.
To date, he has racked up 80 appearances for the club.
That isn’t too many really, with the player having struggled with a few injuries during his time in Germany.
He actually had to have surgery on his knee last March, which saw him miss the backend of the 2020/21 season and the start of 2021/22.
He also tore a knee ligament in August 2020 which put him on the sidelines for a few months.
But when Zagadou is fit to play, he tends to dominate given his physical stature. He is all of 6ft 5in, making him pretty formidable in the air.
Marco Rose, Dortmund’s manager, said of the player recently: “He is a young, excellent central defender with very good ability. He is physically strong, has a lot of speed, has a good left foot.”
It remains to be seen if Newcastle make a play for the 22-year-old, or focus their attention on the likes of Sven Botman and James Tarkowski.
Dan-Axel Zagadou is not the signing for right now for Newcastle
Newcastle have got to get their recruitment right this month.
Zagadou is a good player, and a fearsome opponent physically. He is also left-footed which is nice for balance, and would undoubtedly improve Newcastle’s backline.
But that recent injury history is definitely a worry.
Newcastle need to bring in players who will likely be available for selection from now until the end of the season.
There would be a degree of risk attached to signing Zagadou. Perhaps other clubs out there are in a better position to take it.
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