Newcastle United are among the clubs interested in Valencia’s wantaway defender Mouctar Diakhaby this summer.
According to an exclusive report from AS, Newcastle United have received a boost in the pursuit of Mouctar Diakhaby. The defender is one of the strong candidates to leave Valencia in the summer, with the club also keen on sanctioning his departure in order to make way for potential new signings.
Diakhaby is intent on taking the next step in his career and strongly favours a move to the Premier League. Newcastle United are mainly the club interested in his services, but he is also courted by Leicester City, though neither of the clubs are yet to present an official offer for the player.
Formerly of Olympique Lyon, Diakhaby has been a part of the Valencia side since 2018, when he joined the club for a fee of €15 million. Since then, the young defender has shown a lot of promise, impressing the onlookers with his commanding presence at the back and a 1.92m frame that gives him a considerable advantage in physical or aerial duels.
In just three years, the Frenchman has already racked up almost 100 competitive appearances for the club. But as Valencia look to refine their squad before the end of the transfer window, the defender’s future hangs in the balance, giving Newcastle United a perfect opportunity to make a late swoop for him.
The Magpies are one of few English clubs that are still not done in the market. Steve Bruce’s men are particularly looking for a new central defender, having already been linked with a move for former Liverpool ace Ozan Kabak, who had spent the second half of last season on loan at Anfield before returning to FC Schalke.
It appears Bruce has been left frustrated by the club’s lack of depth in central defence. It paves the way ideally for the 24-year-old Diakhaby to step in and become a key component for the Magpies. As mentioned earlier, he had already shown a lot of talent at Valencia and his style of play would tune in well with NUFC’s footballing philosophy.
However, the club’s pursuit of the Frenchman will largely depend on how much Valencia demand for their star player. Diakhaby is certainly not Newcastle United’s only option in the market so anything other than a reasonable price tag should be enough to put off the Tyneside outfit, who are already suffering from a financial crisis.
