Newcastle United have arranged to extend Mo Diame’s contract if he plays a certain amount of games, according to a report.
If rumours are believed, Newcastle United are planning to tie Mo Diame down to a new deal.
According to The Chronicle, Newcastle have made an ‘arrangement’ with Diame, and the Senegal international, whose contract expires next summer, will win an extension later this season by playing a certain amount of games.
It’s a brilliant decision by the Magpies for two reasons:
1) The 31-year-old is a very good player and losing him on a free transfer in June would be terrible business
2) Manager Rafael Benitez might be counting on the big midfielder to drag United away from danger, just as he did last season, and they don’t need other clubs distracting him in January.
Diame, a £4.5 million signing from Hull City in 2016 [Sky Sports], was a revelation for Benitez during the second half of last season and was a huge reason as to why Newcastle won their relegation battle in the end.
By virtue of the fact that it looks set to be another difficult season for the St James’s Park club – who are one point clear of the bottom three – it makes perfect sense to secure the players most likely to save you.
Diame isn’t perfect, and he can be horribly inconsistent, but Newcastle are incentivising him by using a new contract as a carrot – and a motivated Diame is a major weapon for the North-East side in their fight against the drop.
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