According reports on the continent last night, Newcastle United have made enquiries over the availability of Valencia’s Aymen Abdennour, with the La Liga side quoting a fee of £13m for the centre-back.
This is not the first time Newcastle have showed interest in the 27-year-old Tunisian, with Newcastle being priced out of a move for the former Monaco defender in the summer of 2015, seeing him join Valencia for £22m.
Two years on and we appear to have reignited our interest in Abdennour, and could be handed the opportunity to sign him for cut-price fee of £13m from cash strapped Valencia as Rafa Benitez looks to bolster his defensive options this summer.
makes sense – we were linked with him in his Monaco days a few years back and need a centre-back. Valencia cash strapped & Rafa has links.
— Black&WhiteBarmy (@BlackWhiteBarmy) June 15, 2017
French report Foot Mercato claim that Everton and Marseille will compete with United for his signature, but Newcastle could have the edge with Benitez likely to have a good relationship with Valencia having won La Liga and the UEFA Cup with them earlier in his managerial career.
Time will tell whether we actually pursue this deal, but with Newcastle missing out on the likes of Harry Maguire and Ruben Semedo, it may be time for Benitez to make a move for some much needed centre-backs.