Newcastle United have been offered the chance to sign Paris Saint-Germain's Abdou Diallo during the January transfer window, journalist Liam Kennedy has told Give Me Sport.
The lowdown
The Senegal international, who can operate as both a central defender and a left-back, joined PSG from Borussia Dortmund in July 2019. He has since gone on to make 72 appearances for the French club, collecting seven trophies (including two Ligue 1 titles) along the way.
The 25-year-old is valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt and has two-and-a-half years left to run on his £92,000-per-week contract.
The latest
Kennedy has said that the option of signing Diallo is on the table for Newcastle, but warned that he may not be available for a month because of his Africa Cup of Nations commitments.
He told Give Me Sport: "Another name in there, Abdou Diallo, plays for PSG, is a player I believe has been offered to Newcastle United.
"The one sticking point, and there seems to be caveats in all of these deals, it shows how difficult January can be; the caveat with that deal would be that he's likely to go to AFCON if that goes ahead.
"Everyone is suggesting that will go ahead so he’ll be away with Senegal. Senegal got to the final of the last Africa Cup of Nations; if they did the same, he'd be out of action until the first week of February."
The verdict
It's clear that Newcastle need defensive reinforcements in January, as they are currently on course to concede 84 goals - a truly dreadful record. The signing of Kieran Trippier looks likely, but that alone may be not enough.
Diallo, who European football journalist Alex Barker has urged European champions Chelsea to sign, would represent another significant upgrade on Eddie Howe's current options - his WhoScored seasonal performance rating of 7.11 far outstrips all of Newcastle's defenders.
Unfortunately, patience may not be an option for the Magpies, who are 19th in the table at the halfway stage of the campaign as the spectre of relegation begins to loom worryingly close.
In other news, the door is also open for Newcastle to make this attacking signing