Leicester thrashing shows why Newcastle are planning £9m Koray Gunter deal

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Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United reportedly want to sign Koray Gunter from Serie A in January after a 5-0 Premier League thrashing at Leicester City.

No one came out of Newcastle United’s worst Premier League defeat since the Steve McClaren days with any credit on Sunday with five Leicester City goals leaving Steve Bruce despondent and dejected on the touchline.

The Foxes mauled the Magpies and a backline which often looked impenetrable during the now heady days of Rafa Benitez crumbled. Captain Jamaal Lascelles endured arguably his worst afternoon in black and white while even the much-admired Fabian Schar had a day to forget at the King Power Stadium.

And if Newcastle were already plotting a January bid for Koray Gunter, a humiliating 5-0 defeat in Leicester is unlikely to change their mind.

Gunter might not have evolved into the world-class centre-back Jurgen Klopp tipped him to be during his formative years at Borussia Dortmund (FourFourTwo) but the German is producing the best performances of his career over in Italy.

Calciomercato claims that Newcastle watched Gunter produce a stand-out performance during Hellas Verona’s 0-0 draw against Udinese last week and left the Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi putting plans in place for a £9 million January bid.

Gunter, who is on loan at Verona from Genoa, made three tackles, two clearances, won three aerial duels and completed 91 per cent of his passes when Udinese came to town.

It would be unfair to claim that Lascelles and Schar are ripe for the chop on the basis of one horror show in the Midlands. They remain solid Premier League defenders, players who impressed to such an extent under Benitez that they were linked with big-money moves to some of the top flight’s top six.

But Lascelles and Schar are clearly more comfortable in a back three and Bruce’s decision to introduce a flat four against Leicester backfired spectacularly.

Now, Gunter himself has shone on the left of a three-man defence for Hellas Verona this season and he could slot in easily into the manager’s preferred system. Gunter, Lascelles and Schar, on paper at least, is a combination which looks unlikely to collapse under the slightest pressure.