Should Leeds United target the out-of-favour Newcastle United man?
Leeds United should try and sign Newcastle United defender Chancel Mbemba this summer if Kyle Bartley does not return to Elland Road.
Bartley was superb during a season-long loan in Yorkshire last season, but his impressive performances could mean that parent club Swansea City could give him another chance to impress in the Premier League next season.
Plus, Garry Monk, who signed him for Leeds and worked with him in South Wales, has joined Middlesbrough so United should prepare for the possibility that they will not be able to lure him back to the club this summer.
Thankfully, there are plenty more fish in the sea and the Newcastle man is certainly one who Leeds should try to catch.
The Chronicle reported last month that the Magpies would be willing to sell the 22-year-old after a very low-key season with them in the Championship.
The Congolese stalwart, an £8.5 million signing in 2015 according to The Chronicle, only managed 12 league appearances which, given how brilliant he had looked in the Premier League with them, was a big surprise.
Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez was said to have lost patience with him, but he remains a very fine centre-back, as he proved during the 2014-15 campaign, and Leeds should seek to pair him up with Pontus Jansson next term. On paper that is as strong a centre-back partnership as there could be in the Championship.
He has another three years left on his contract but the speculation that he is allowed to leave might indicate that the North-East side might be flexible with their valuation.
He was a mere spectator in Newcastle’s route back to the big time, but he can have a starring role in helping Leeds back to the promised land.
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