Newcastle United have come back to the table to for £50m star due to his versatility

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After Lloyd Kelly joined Juventus, Newcastle United need to sign a new centre-back.

It was a surprise to see how much interest there was in Newcastle United defender Lloyd Kelly. The 26-year-old barely played under Eddie Howe after signing from Bournemouth in the summer.

Even when he was on the pitch, he did not blow Newcastle fans away with his performances. Kelly made his final appearance for the club in Newcastle’s defeat to Fulham at the beginning of February – his 10th Premier League appearance of the season.

Despite signing a few months prior, Kelly wanted to leave Newcastle after growing frustrated with a lack of game time. A silver lining to his exit is that Juventus are obliged to buy Kelly in the summer for around £20m with a sell-on clause.

Kelly followed Miguel Almiron out of Newcastle in the January window – the winger rejoined Atlanta United for £8m after a six-year spell on Tyneside.

Newcastle are due a £73m PSR boost which will give them more freedom to spend in the summer. A new report has now stated that the Magpies are amongst several clubs eyeing a move for a Liga Portugal star who Howe wanted at the club in 2023.

Newcastle monitoring Ousmane Diomande

Sporting Lisbon defender Ousmane Diomande has played a big part in their title charge this season. The defender has played 20 games for the Liga Portugal leaders this season, keeping 10 clean sheets.

In addition to his run in the league, Diomande has played in all eight of Sporting’s Champions League games this campaign including a 4-1 win against Manchester City in November.

Newcastle are big admirers of Diomande – the Magpies were linked with a move for the young defender in 2023 which never came to fruition.

Now, according to A Bola, Newcastle are among several clubs who are keeping tabs on the 21-year-old after initially watching him at the African Cup of Nations.

The report states that the likes of Newcastle, Bayern Munich and Chelsea have been impressed by his ability to play in a back three alongside one other centre-back.

Reports ahead of the summer transfer window suggested Diomande would cost Newcastle around £50m which they should be able to afford.

Ousmane Diomande’s stats compared to Newcastle defenders

For patches of this season, Newcastle have been solid defensively. A centre-back partnership of Dan Burn and Fabian Schar has worked wonders despite both players entering the twilight of their careers.

However, Newcastle know they must look to replace them soon. Schar is out of contract at the end of the season and while he looks set to sign a new deal, there is no guarantee that he will be a consistent first-team player given he is now 33.

At just 21, Diomande is a fantastic option to replace Schar long-term. Newcastle already have Sven Botman to replace Burn for the future.

From a youth perspective, the Magpies can look to the likes of Alex Murphy and Cathal Heffernan as possible options at the back for years to come.

Murphy joined Bolton on loan in January and recently scored his first goal against Rob Elliot’s Crawley Town.