Newcastle United will reportedly face competition from AC Milan for the signing of Abdou Diallo, with PSG valuing the defender at €25 million.
According to a report from Foot Mercato’s Santi Aouna, Newcastle United will have to battle it out with AC Milan to secure the services of Abdou Diallo from Paris Saint-Germain in the January transfer window.
Diallo came through the ranks at AS Monaco and had a loan stint at Zulte Waregem before moving to Germany in 2017 when he signed for Mainz. The 25-year-old spent just one season with the club before he was signed by Borussia Dortmund and made a solid impression, prompting PSG to sign him up twelve months later in 2019.
Since signing for the French champions, Diallo has been a regular presence in the side, with his ability to play at centre-back and left-back making him a handy player for Les Parisiens. To date, he has made 72 appearances, registering four assists in the process. However, the Senegalese international has found game-time hard to come by this campaign under Mauricio Pochettino and could be sold in January.
This situation has piqued the interest of Newcastle United, who are in the market for a new defender. The Magpies are 19th in the Premier League standings and have the worst defensive record in the competition this season, and need to strengthen their backline in January if they are to avoid the fate of relegation.
The likes of Ciaran Clark, Jamaal Lascelles, and Fabian Schar have not performed consistently, while they also lack qualities like recovery pace and ball-playing abilities, which are needed in defenders for them to excel in the system that manager Eddie Howe prefers to utilise. It has led to links with several defenders, with LOSC Lille’s Sven Botman believed to be the primary target.
However, the Toon might face difficulties convincing the Dutchman to join their relegation battle, which has led to them looking at alternative options, with Diallo emerging as one. But, they will now have to face competition from AC Milan, who are also scouring the transfer market for defensive reinforcements.
The injury to senior defender Simon Kjaer has hurt the Rossoneri. Even though they have Fikayo Tomori and Alessio Romagnoli to call upon, along with Pierre Kalulu, a new quality defender would be a necessary addition for Stefano Pioli & co., leading to their interest in Diallo.
PSG, for their part, would be open to a sale and will demand a sum of €25 million for his signing. It remains to be seen if either Newcastle or Milan are willing to meet that valuation in the January transfer window.
