Newcastle United journalist Mark Douglas has provided an update on the club’s pursuit of Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury.
Steve Bruce’s men have been showing an interest in the 23-year-old midfielder for some time now, having looked into signing him during the January transfer window before ultimately signing Joe Willock instead.
A move away from the King Power Stadium could certainly be appealing for the midfielder – valued at £6.3m on Transfermarkt – where he might get more of an opportunity to play having been given limited opportunities during last season.
Speaking about the matter on the Everything Is Black And White podcast, Douglas discussed the deal and hinted that Choudhury is apparently open to the idea of moving to Newcastle, but cast some doubt on whether or not Leicester City would be willing to let him leave:
“Obviously, Hamza Choudhury is one of the players that’s been talked about. I know that there is some serious interest there and I know that the player himself is open to that move as well, and would be keen on it. But it’ll depend on whether Leicester believe that letting him come out to Newcastle is a good move.
“He needs games, but having said that, they’re obviously fighting on a few fronts themselves this season. So is that realistic? I’d say it’s less than 50/50.”
TIF Thoughts on Mark Douglas’ comments about Hamza Choudhury and Newcastle United…
Would Hamza Choudhury be a good player for Newcastle to sign?
Yes
No
You can certainly understand the argument that Leicester might not want to let him go if they are competing on multiple fronts and they’d rather have him and not need him, than need him and not have him.
Meanwhile, from a Newcastle perspective when it comes to the size of the squad, the numbers aren’t exactly in Choudhury’s favour either, with the centre of midfield looking pretty stacked at the moment, so it’s not going to be a guarantee that his playing time will be any better up on Tyneside.
Plus when you look at Leicester City’s WhoScored figures from last season, there aren’t any areas in attack, defence or passing that you could point to that he particularly excels in. Add that to Douglas’ claim that Leicester might not even let him go to begin with, and Newcastle United are probably better off looking elsewhere.
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