Newcastle United are 'taking a keen interest' in Paris Saint-Germain defender Abdou Diallo, according to Foot Mercato. 

The lowdown

Diallo, who can play as both a centre-back and a left-back, has started seven Ligue 1 games for PSG so far this season (via WhoScored).

Data from FBRef shows that, relative to his positional peers, he excels at passing and dribbling.

The 25-year-old has three years remaining on his contract at the Parc des Princes and is valued at £22.5million by Transfermarkt.

The latest

Newcastle United's new owners intend to 'recruit heavily in the coming weeks', the report says.

New manager Eddie Howe has requested defensive reinforcements, and Diallo is one of the targets who has been 'studied'.

It's not yet clear whether Newcastle would be able to convince the Senegal international to swap Paris for Tyneside.

The verdict

Diallo may be one of the more affordable players at PSG, but will he really be open to this move?

While he's not playing every game under Mauricio Pochettino, he's starting fairly regularly for a side who are massive favourites to win any domestic competition they take part in, and he's also playing with the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

PSG will have aspirations of challenging for the Champions League too, while it could be a number of years before Newcastle are even in the European conversation despite their newfound riches.

A more realistic defensive target for the Magpies could be Burnley's James Tarkowski, who boasts Premier League experience and would not be taking such a step down if he were to move.

In other news, Noel Whelan has talked up this potential headline-grabbing move.