Newcastle United are reportedly keen on Sampdoria’s Omar Colley.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, Newcastle United are keen to snap up Sampdoria defender Omar Colley – but are targeting a summer deal rather than signing him this month.
It’s claimed that Newcastle have been scouting Colley several times, and like him enough to try and bring him to Tyneside at the end of the season.
Sampdoria won’t let Colley go this month, but Newcastle are allegedly set to send representatives to Italy in the next few days to negotiate a deal.
That may be quite the surprise for Newcastle fans, who would like a couple of January signings before work even starts on additions for next season.
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Colley, 27, has had a nomadic career so far, turning out in his native Gambia with Wallidan and Real de Banjul before heading to Finland with KuPS.
Djurgardens snapped him up in 2015, and his impressive displays quickly saw him move on to Belgium in 2016 with Genk, with Sampdoria snapping him up last summer.
Colley has been impressing in Italy, justifying the €9.5million (£8million) fee Sampdoria paid to land him last summer, with a profit surely on the horizon.
Why do Newcastle want him?
Colley is big, strong and aggressive, but he also has a turn of pace about him, and a key factor in his game is that he’s left-footed.
Left-footed defenders are highly sought-after for balance, and Steve Bruce has previously used Paul Dummett and Ciaran Clark as a left-sided centre back in his defensive setup.
Colley would be able to slot into that role perfectly, and may well be the reason why Bruce and Newcastle are trying to get him snapped up months in advance.
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