A big update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly…
What’s the talk?
According to The Express, PIF are plotting a £12m bid for the centre-back to come in and bolster Eddie Howe’s squad in the summer.
The Magpies head coach signed the defender for the Cherries from Bristol City for £13m and he is now said to be eyeing him up as one of his top targets for the Toon.
Rocking
Howe can get Newcastle rocking with a deal for Kelly as the central defender would be an excellent addition to his squad in an area of his squad that is in urgent need of surgery.
Of the five first-team centre-backs contracted to the club, Jamaal Lascelles – 28 – is the youngest player in that position. Three of them are 30 or older, with January signing Dan Burn turning 30 in May. This suggests that Newcastle would benefit from bringing in a younger player to add some youth to the ranks.
The Magpies do not want to be in a position where all of their central defenders end up leaving around the same time due to their age, which is why they need to start bringing in up-and-coming gems to naturally take their place in the team.
Kelly, 23, is an ideal target for the Toon. He has, albeit limited, experience of playing in the Premier League with eight appearances and has been excelling in the Championship for Bournemouth – earning plaudits for his displays.
Ex-Cherries boss Jonathan Woodgate once took the time to heap praise on the talented machine, saying:
“At the minute he just looks like a bit of a Rolls-Royce doesn’t he? He looked very, very good (against Bristol City).
“I was impressed to be honest with you, especially when (Antoine) Semenyo tried to run him down the line and Semenyo gave him two yards and Lloydy overtook him. It’s eye-catching when things like that happen, especially as a fellow defender. When you see things like that, it’s like ‘you’ve got a bit’.”
In the second tier this term, he has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.02. The south coast outfit have kept 14 clean sheets in his 30 starts, with Kelly winning 63% of his duels and making 4.5 clearances per game. He has been consistently delivering in the Championship and his form suggests that he is now ready for a chance to prove that he can do it in the Premier League.
The former Bristol City man has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and improve, at the age of 23, and that is why Howe can get Newcastle rocking with his arrival. Fans will surely love to see a young, fresh, face added to an ageing group of centre-backs, especially one with Kelly’s impressive form this season.
AND in other news, Howe must now brutally axe £50k-p/w Newcastle “liability” who’s “embarrassingly bad”…