Kalidou Koulibaly has reportedly been identified as Newcastle Uniteds’ No.1 priority for the next summer window.
This comes from Football Insider, with the publication noting that the defender – formerly linked with Liverpool – could be a feasible signing for the Magpies following their takeover by a Saudi-backed group.
The Senegal international’s contract is set to expire in two years’ time, with Transfermarkt valuing the centre-half at £43.2m.
There was once a time when the 30-year-old was seen as a likely option for our recruitment team to pursue and pair with talismanic defender Virgil van Dijk.
Whilst we can certainly picture the partnership being a particularly formidable one, we can’t overlook the fact that we’re blessed with a range of truly gifted centre-halves, not to forget the potential on offer from Joe Gomez and summer recruit Ibrahima Konate.
Though we can certainly empathise with Newcastle fans’ sheer joy at the prospect of Mike Ashley’s departure, we have to express concern over the well-documented allegations against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and what this means for the Premier League.