Anderlecht centre-back Kara Mbodji was linked with a move to Newcastle United recently.
Just a week after Turkish Football reported that Newcastle United were interested in Anderlecht centre-back Kara Mbodji, it is surely no coincidence that the Magpies sent scouts to watch the Jupiler League giants in action.
Anderlecht Online reports that Newcastle’s representatives were in attendance as the defending champions beat Mouscron 2-1 away from home on Saturday evening.
Although if Mbodji was indeed the reason for their visit, they would have been left disappointed as the defender was omitted from the match day squad.
That might have had something to do with the fact that Mbodji had only recently returned to Belgium following a gruelling flight back from Senegal after the international break. The powerful centre-back scored a 93rd-minute winner against South Africa on Tuesday to seal his side’s place at the World Cup.
It is understood that Anderlecht would rather keep hold of Mbodji until the end of the season but could be tempted to sell for around £10 million in January.
And any Newcastle fan who watched their 4-1 dismantling at the hands of Manchester United on Saturday would struggle to argue that he would not be a welcome addition.
Newcastle have raided Anderlecht before, signing Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba in the summer of 2015.
Neither has been used too frequently by manager Rafa Benitez, however, so Mbodji would be hoping to make a more positive impression.
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