The Newcastle fans in the Transfer Tavern are gutted this morning after reading a story in The Chronicle that claims Rafa Benitez will sell the club’s Congolese centre-back, Chancel Mbemba this summer, with Celtic interested in the player. Mbemba has been at the club since signing from Anderlecht in the summer of 2015 but has fallen down the pecking order under Benitez in the last few years.
https://twitter.com/toontransfer/status/996423330570915841
At the age of 23, Mbemba can’t afford to not be playing. The young defender has bags of potential and played very well at the start of his career at St James Park, leading many fans to now be disappointed with the fact that he’s much further down the pecking order. This season has seen Jamaal Lascelles and Florian Lejeune have been doing a stand-up job this season, securing the Newcastle defence and helping them to a 10th place finish.
The Newcastle fans propping our bar up will still be able to watch the Congolese defender as the team leading the race to sign Mbemba is Brendan Rodger’s Celtic. Whilst the football north of the border won’t be what Mbemba is used to in the Premier League, Scottish football under Rodgers is a fantastic opportunity for the 23-year-old to bolster his trophy cabinet as he looks to get back to playing first-team football.
You can read our resident Geordies’ verdict on Mbemba here:
https://twitter.com/doiuhg/status/996451103880503296
https://twitter.com/Felix_NUFC/status/996494220750966784
https://twitter.com/howay_the_lad/status/996433352839311360
I’d follow him back to the Congo if I had to…
— Jack McNally (@_JackMcNally) May 15, 2018
Sad to see him go but he needs to play
— Shay (@MagikelMikel) 15 May 2018
Shame he is class and would we perfect when Lacelles goes to Chelsea….
— steve g (@steve_gregory79) May 15, 2018
Why? He never gives the balll awaaaayyyy
— Daryl Coombs (@darcoombs) May 15, 2018
