West Ham and Newcastle reportedly want Torino defender Nicolas Nkoulou.
West Ham United are reportedly doing battle with Premier League competitors Newcastle United for Torino defender Nicolas Nkoulou, and the centre-back would form a perfect partnership under Manuel Pellegrini.
French newspaper L’Equipe claim 28-year-old Nkoulou has interested both Premier League sides, while Spanish outfit Sevilla are also keen on the former Marseille and Lyon defender.
Newcastle are desperately in need of additions this summer but their lack of spending power, largely due to owner Mike Ashley, is preventing Rafa Benitez from bringing in his targets.
That should give free-spending West Ham a much better chance of landing the 72-time Cameroon international this summer, despite already completing deals for two new centre-backs.
Indeed, one of those would act as the perfect partner for Nkoulou should the Torino defender opt for a move to east London, with Issa Diop joining the club from Toulouse.
Both French speaking, the duo would instantly hit the ground running as a pair more so than others at the London Stadium, with the 28-year-old mixing his experience with Diop’s raw talent and leadership.
The duo both possess a lot of speed at the back, but their ability to communicate in French will surely allow the stars to organise the backline better than last season.
Likely to be on the cheap side, the signing of Nkoulou would take West Ham to the next level and finally stem the flow of goals.
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