Newcastle United sold Chancel Mbemba to Porto for a surprise fee of just £5million, according to a report from the Chronicle.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Democratic Republic of Congo international, whose move to the Portuguese giants was confirmed earlier this week, cost the seven figure price tag, with the Telegraph having claimed he signed for the Magpies from Anderlecht for £8million.
The 23-year-old, who was the third first team exit this summer, made 59 appearances for Newcastle during his career at St James’ Park, and managed to score just a single goal.
Opinion
There will be some serious surprise from the Toon Army regarding Mbemba’s transfer fee, with many likely to believe that he was worth far more than the £5million paid by Porto. Yes, he might have been firmly out of favour under manager Rafael Benitez but that does not take away that he was a talented defender who could no doubt have done a half decent job had he been utilised in the first team next season. A supposed £3million loss on his signing and sale will not go down well with owner Mike Ashley either, but at least the centre back’s wages are now off the books, giving Benitez some sort of breathing room when it comes to recruiting reinforcements for the upcoming campaign. He has wasted no time in replacing Mbemba either, with Fabian Schar already through the door at St James’ Park, the Swiss international joining from Deportivo La Coruna.