Yanga-Mbiwa eyes summer move to England

Newcastle United transfer target Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa has admitted that he would prefer to move to England ahead of anywhere else should he be destined to leave Montpellier in the summer.

The Magpies were linked with the Montpellier captain last month as they looked to boost the depth of their defence - a task which they ultimately failed to complete.

Yanga-Mbiwa has been a virtual ever present since breaking onto the scene as a 17-year-old and is now helping his side go toe to toe with oil rich PSG in pursuit of the Ligue 1 title. In total he has made 175 appearances for Montpellier, which is no mean feat for a player that doesn't turn 23 until later on in the year.

His admission that he would prefer to move to England comes in the midst of interest in the player from Bayern Munich who have been keeping tabs on him for a while. However it would appear that Yanga-Mbiwa has set his eyes on a move to England ahead of anything else.

"Bayern is a very big club. I'm really flattered, but my ambition is to one day play my football in England," he told Sky Sports.

It is believed that it would take a fee in the region of £5m to persuade Montpellier to do business, and for that price I hope we are at least keeping an eye on the situation. By signing one player it could go a long way to adding some much needed depth to our defence as he can play right across the back four although he is primarily a centre-back.

That would give us cover in both full-back positions and added depth in the middle meaning that we'd probably only need another dedicated right-back (should Danny Simpson leave in the summer - a likely scenario given the reluctance to agree a new deal) and we'd be a lot more prepared than what we are now.

It's a no brainer in my opinion.