Transfer story
Valencia’s Aymen Abdennour may be on the move and he might just end up at St. James Park. Newcastle United had been linked with the central defender as far back as 2015 but it was claimed he chose Valencia back then because he wanted Champions League football.
It appears as though the Magpies will have to fend off interest from Everton to land the Tunisia International.
Rafael Benitez moved quickly to seal the signature of Christian Atsu from Chelsea following his successful loan spell at the club last season. He is also looking for a new front-man with Mitrovic’s performances not matching up to the standards Newcastle had hoped for.
Ciaran Clark and Jamaal Lascelles fared well in the Championship but Rafael Benitez will need a few accomplished players in the backline and the Valencia man could add that to the team.
Abdennour was one of the highest rated centre-backs during his time at AS Monaco. Then he moved to Valencia for a big money deal, and has since gone off the radar of many sides who deemed him a good option.
The Tunisian will want a change of fortunes and Newcastle United might just be club he reignites his career at.
Player stats
Aymen Abdennour played just 13 league games last season. He had a season to forget as he was injured for long spells on two separate occasions. The manager also does not seem to trust the Tunisian enough to grant him a starting berth.
This did not affect his stats, as he managed 1.4 tackles, 2.5 interceptions and 3.7 clearances per game at Valencia last season. He has pass accuracy of 84 % (Via Whoscored).
What’ll he offer Newcastle?
Rafael Benitez will hope his team is ready for the big time as they were really great in the Championship last season. They were always going return and they did that soon enough by playing some good football in the process.
Abdennour showed a lot of promise in his time at Monaco, and at 27, he still has the time on his side to resurrect his career. What better way to do it than in the Premier League? He will be plying his trade in the best league and playing in front of a hugely supportive Toon army.
He is calm on the ball and has great command of his area. Abdennour is a great tackler and is physically well built for life in the Premier League.
His contract with the club runs till 2020, so he could cost quite a lot of quid, even more so considering Valencia signed him for 22m Euros.
