If there was one thing that was clear from Newcastle’s 4-2 defeat in the Premier League to Norwich at Carrow Road, it’s that they are in desperate need of some centre backs. Danny Simpson and James Perch is not a pairing that the Magpies can afford to put on the pitch for very long, so January purchases need to be made.
It appears that Newcastle United’s French revolution will continue as Toon boss Alan Pardew is looking to bolster his defensive options with Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa . Newcastle were hit with a suffering blow after their two first choice centre backs Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini were left injured after last weekend’s game with Chelsea.
Now Pardew needs reinforcements to maintain Newcastle impressive start to the season. Yanga-Mbiwa caught the eye when Toon scouts went to watch his team-mate Olivier Giroud in action. It was the former that stood out and got the Newcastle scouts interested.
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa would definitely feel at home if he joined Newcastle with the Magpies already buying a whole influx of French-born talent in recent seasons. The 22-year-old would join the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye, Gabriel Obertan, Demba Ba, Sylvain Marveaux and Mehdi Abeid.
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The strong defender has given Newcastle fans optimism after he expressed his desire to play in the Premier League one day. The 22-year-old said: “People live for football in England, and that is what I want to experience. I’ll see what offers I get, but English football is incredible. There is more physical contact than in France, but I like that – it suits my style of play.”
Montpellier are currently leading Ligue 1 and their super tackling captain Yanga-Mbiwa has been instrumental to their impressive start to the season.
The 22-year-old has conceded that a move to the Premier League would be ‘incredible’ but has remained coy as speculation swirls linking the Frenchman with a move to Tyneside. Yanga-Mbiwa has also been linked with moves to German giants Bayern Munich and Arsenal confessed that he had already taken English lessons just in case a his dream move to England did come a reality.
Speaking to France Football, he said: “I take some English lessons in case of one day, I want to have the basis. That is true that for me, England is something incredible. This is a championship for me with a lot of physical contact; it is my game and what I like. But in this country they live only for football. I want to discover it one day. Score a goal at Old Trafford and slide on the pitch; [it] would be enormous.”
According to the Daily Mirror, they report that Newcastle have jumped the queue and look favourites in landing the 22-year-old. The Frenchman would be a great addition and would definitely help ease Alan Pardew’s defensive crisis.
Written by Shahrouz Salimian