Having done an excellent job thus far in his two years in the Newcastle United dugout, head coach Eddie Howe won't want to tempt faith by suffering any more defeats.
The Magpies have lost seven of their previous eight outings since beating Manchester United 1-0 at the start of December and the Geordie outfit have found themselves 11 points adrift of fourth in the Premier League.
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ByTom CunninghamJan 4, 2024
If Newcastle are to stop the rot, the January transfer window will be their best friend and Howe is already eyeing up potential targets to strengthen his squad ahead of the second half of the campaign.
Newcastle transfer news – Ousmane Diomande
According to Football Insider, Newcastle United are set to battle it out with Arsenal and Chelsea for Sporting Clube de Portugal centre-half Ousmane Diomande before the winter window slams shut at the beginning of February. The outlet are claiming that the Magpies have already spoken to Diomande's entourage about a possible move to St. James' Park this month.
Diomande has become a key first-team player for Sporting under Ruben Amorim as the Portuguese giants sit atop the Liga Portugal by one point with the fourth-best defensive record in the division.
Arriving last January, Sporting saw the potential in Diomande and handed the youngster a four-year deal which includes an €80m (£69m) release clause. Football scout Jacek Kulig also saw the promise in the Ivorian and expressed that the centre-back is "destined for greatness".
Having made 38 appearances in less than a year for the Leoes, the 20-year-old could already be on the move and Newcastle may be the best location for him right now.
Ousmane Diomande's stats this season
Newcastle secured the signing of Sven Botman back in the summer of 2022 for £35m from French outfit Lille. In the space of 18 months, the Dutchman has made 55 appearances for the English club, which is impressive considering he missed three months of the current campaign with a knee injury. Still only 23, it is clear that Howe sees Botman as the future of Newcastle's left-sided centre-back spot.
However, the club are yet to secure the right centre-half position. Both club captain Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar have shared the role in recent times but the duo are now on the wrong side of 30, meaning this hole will eventually need to be filled by Howe.
Schar has been the first-choice option in Newcastle's backline since the manager arrived at the club a little over two years ago. Since moving to St. James' Park back in 2018, the Switzerland international has appeared 168 times for the Magpies – 92 of these appearances have come under Howe.
While both Lascelles and Schar can definitely still do a job for the manager and have done so quite a lot this season, it may be time for the club to consider the future of the right centre-back spot. Diomande seems like the obvious candidate considering he is currently outperforming both central defenders this season in several key areas.
Goals
0.11
0.05
0.04
Expected Goals
0.06
0.05
0.05
Assists
0.05
0
0
Expected Assists
0.02
0.02
0.04
Progressive Passes
4.6
2.41
3.86
Passing Accuracy %
90.9
85.7
85.5
Passes To Final 1/3
5.83
2.83
4.18
Tackles
1.5
1.14
1.27
Tackles Won
0.96
0.74
0.91
Interceptions
0.48
0.32
0.95
Aerial Duels Won %
66.7
68.1
45.8
Stats via FBref
For the most part, Diomande is outscoring the Newcastle duo offensively and defensively but it's clear from this table that the centre-half is better suited to playing in a progressive team like Sporting, who average 59.1% of the ball each game. Newcastle, who average 54.6% possession in the Premier League, seem like a perfect match.
£69m is a lot of money to spend on one player in January, but Football Transfers have revealed that Newcastle's transfer kitty is much larger than Howe initially anticipated. If the funds are available, signing Diomande should be top of the manager's agenda.