Newcastle are in talks with the representatives of Bayern Munich defender Niklas Sule ahead of the transfer window, Liam Kennedy has reported.
The lowdown
The 26-year-old’s contract is up at the end of the season, with negotiations over the course of the year failing to yield a breakthrough as yet.
He has been at Bayern since 2018, when he joined from Hoffenheim in an £18m deal. The German has gone on to make 150 appearances for the Bavarian giants and win 37 caps for his country (via Transfermarkt).
He has racked up 13 major honours during his time at the Allianz Arena, including a Champions League triumph in 2020.
Sule is both imposing (at 6 foot 5) and quick, clocking a top speed of 21.6 miles per hour in the 2017/18 season. Only Kingsley Coman could match that in the Bayern squad (via Bundesliga).
The latest
According to Kennedy via Twitter, Sule is ‘very much on NUFC’s radar‘ as they look to strengthen the heart of their defence in January.
Encouragingly, it’s thought that the player would be willing to trade Champions League football for a Premier League relegation battle. However, Newcastle face competition for the 26-year-old’s signature, with reigning Champions League winners Chelsea also in the frame.
The verdict
Newcastle have the second-worstt defensive record in the Premier League, with only bottom club Norwich City (26) conceding more goals than their 24 up to this point. Therefore, it’s no surprise to see that the Magpies are intent on strengthening the centre-back position at the first opportunity.
Signing a player of Sule’s calibre wouldn’t necessarily fix everything straight away, but he could certainly elevate the whole defensive unit, especially in terms of ball distribution – his 88.7% passing accuracy rate in the Bundesliga is better than every Newcastle defender this season and second only to rarely-seen midfielder Jeff Hendrick.
Beating Chelsea to a signing from Bayern Munich would also be quite a statement from the Magpies at the beginning of an exciting new era.
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