Newcastle were reported to be interested in Genk midfielder Kara Mbodj in December and January, and news today that Newcastle are continuing to watch the 25 year-old, with a view to signing him over the summer.
Kara Mbodj – 6’4″ Gent defender
Kara can play at center-back but can also in central midfield, so the 6’4″ 15 times capped Senegal International is a versatile player.
If the news in January is to be believed then West Ham, West Brom and Celtic were also interested in signing the player, after he impressed with his performances for Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.
Newcastle will no doubt get some feedback from Papiss Cisse on just how good this 25 year-old is.
Newcastle need a good central defender brought in this summer, and there’s a decent likelihood that Cheick Tiote will be sold in the summer, so we’ll need to bring in a defensive midfielder too.
It seems that Newcastle would need to pay £5M for the Gent player, and we may even be able to afford that fee. 😀
The Genk manager is the former Birmingham, Aston Villa and Scotland boss Alex McLeish, and in January a fee of £7M is what the former Birmingham and Aston Villa manager wanted for his player.
Kara started his career in Norway with Tromso, before moving to Belgian club Genk in January of 2013 for €2M, on an initial three and a half year deal, but that contract has since been extended and runs out in June of 2018.
Kara played 83 times for Tromso with 10 goals and two assists, and in fact he is quite versatile and has been known to play in attacking central midfield too.
He has played 21 times with one goal this season, and at Genk he has played a total of 80 games with 5 goals.
This lad looks a decent player and for £5M would seem to be a good acquisition.
What do you think?
Comment welcome.
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60 comments so far
catchy in norway
Mar 2, 2015 at 1:51 PM
Comment #1lfg21
r u mad
look at his game and tell me what he does that equates to justifying a place in the team ?
his sprinting ability gets him into great places, his ability and decision making get him into trouble.
id play Raylor on the right side every day ov the week ahead of him as he thinks like a footballer, and not a French coward
catchy in norway
Mar 2, 2015 at 1:51 PM
Comment #2ED has this from his reliable source NUFC news now
Bambams
Mar 2, 2015 at 1:53 PM
Comment #3We will offer him a lucrative 6 year deal…..
We will offer them 500k
He will sign for someone else else
We will sign a young prospect from lower leagues that all the top championship teams want for their development squad.
What’s the chances of Shearer barred from St James pk after his honest statement !
catchy in norway
Mar 2, 2015 at 1:57 PM
Comment #4LFG21
since when has putting crosses into a box make you a dinosaur ?
long balls yes
crosses no
play rock paper scissors , find out which is the best hand to play with, ?
football is the same , every tactic can be a good tactic, you just need to weigh up the other team, and all good teams use them all,
poor teams ie nufc use only 1
Jeff from Benwell
Mar 2, 2015 at 1:59 PM
Comment #5Newcastle will seem like St. Lucia after Tromsø
Jeff from Benwell
Mar 2, 2015 at 1:59 PM
Comment #6https://www.google.no/maps/place/Troms%C3%B8/@69.641067,18.9861299,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m5!1e2!3m3!1s-Os04doGDeIY%2FUqJhoFOWmfI%2FAAAAAAAAZLg%2FYdf9HgU9jpw!2e4!3e15!4m2!3m1!1s0x45c4c4526c3b71fd:0x023dca858e6ebed3!6m1!1e1
one fine day
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:00 PM
Comment #7repost from Jonas stream
Sorry to be harsh but unless Jonas has improved ten fold then id give no more than a cameo role , five mins at the end .
If we are indeed safe why aren’t we playing some of the kids now to have look at them ?
how will we ever know if they are good enough to step up.
I’d def start with Taylor too we looked a lot more solid when he came on he actually put his foot on the ball and looked to pass , an original approach these days with our lot.
River just needs a goal I think so he needs games to get into it as does abeid .
Surely we have a kid to come in instead of willo and if they aren’t getting games at rangers bring them back what’s the point?
Carver has nothing to lose now and if he seriously thinks he can get the job then a tame surrender to Man utd at home is not the way to get it.
I’d rather see us at least have a go at them even with what’s left of the squad.
Hopefully who ever comes in this summer makes it a priority to look at why our injuries are so bad but the fact that we can’t/won’t rotate players in my opinion has a lot to do with it
LGFUAD21
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:06 PM
Comment #8catchy in norway
1) I suggest you look up facetious in the dictionary before commenting.
2) The odd cross yes. But when your entire game is based on it it makes you a dinosaur with no plan a or b limiting your potential to win consisently.
Moyes did it at Man U and thats why he failed.
Crosses are easy to defend 90% of the time and when your game plan is dependent on crosses teams can easily suss you out and null any threat.
If all your game is based on using the sings then you are only using 33.3% of the space available on the pitch.
You quite easily crowd yourself out of the game while opposition centre backs know they only have 1/2 strikers to worry about for 2 cbs.
The margin for error on the strikers part is bigger when attacking a cross than other chances therefore you are making the CBs job easier while FBs know they only have to force your player wide and force him to make the faster than he would like. Not to mention keepers can collect.
I havent even mentioned the fact we havent even got the players with good delivery bar Janmaat.
We talk about Raylor but his crosses were always poor. It’s his free kicks that are decent.
For me Raylor does not have the pace.
LGFUAD21
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:08 PM
Comment #9catchy in norway
To reiterate my point.
Go compare how many crosses you see from a top team (Bayern, Barcelona, Dortmund (even with Immobile), Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelski)
Compare that to how many you see from a mid table team
Stoke, Newcastle, West Ham, West Brom.
Obertoe
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:22 PM
Comment #10Reports in Belgium say we are interested in Chancel Mbemba from Anderlecht. I think he would be better then Kara
toon kk
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:26 PM
Comment #11Our strengths are having pacey winger’s like Aarons we haven’t got the technical ability in our squad to pass our way through teams. We have a basic squad which often has to play hoof ball because it’s the only way we can get the ball forward.
Jeff from Benwell
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:32 PM
Comment #12The mbemba story is from the Sun
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/1284/Anderlecht/article/detail/2236866/2015/03/02/Newcastle-aast-op-Mbemba.dhtml
geordie157
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:33 PM
Comment #13Chancel Mbemba would be good.
If Ashley was drugged we could go for Inigo Martinez of Sociedad or Musacchio of Villareal.
Back to the real world, Vlaar when Villa go down?
hibbit
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:35 PM
Comment #14toon kk i have a feeling arons won’t play again this season or he signs anew contract
Jeff from Benwell
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:35 PM
Comment #15Whereas the Mbodj story is from Belgium and Africa
http://www.africatopsports.com/2014/12/03/genk-kara-mbodj-en-direction-de-newcastle/
Lindisfarne
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:42 PM
Comment #16I had a good view of Obertan in the first half and the best bit of work he did was getting out of the way of Daryls cross. I noticed at one point that Obertan jumped for a header and deliberately missed (as indicated by his body position in the decent) it, hoping the defender would also be flumaxed into letting the ball through. Unfortunately the only other ball in the whole match that he got anywhere near was one that hit him on the back of the head.
However, apart from his poor performance the rest of the team did not play to his strengths, so much so that I wondered if they were told to protect him from re-injuring his hamstring. I am more inclined to think it was a general slowness in build up play and lack of ability to play a through ball, or one over the top for Obertan to run on to. It was only when Ryan Taylor came on that the one and only successful diagonal ball was played over the top to the then on rushing Gouffran.
Lindisfarne
Mar 2, 2015 at 2:57 PM
Comment #17Ryan Taylor would not be able to match the pace and power of Valencia if he were playing left back, although he deserves to start.
4-3-1-2
——–Sami—–Perez
————Sissoko
Anita——Raylor—–Abeid
Haidara-Collo-Willo-Janmaat
————–Krul
toon kk
Mar 2, 2015 at 3:06 PM
Comment #18Lindisfarne
personally I wouldn’t have Williamson or Anita anywhere near our team. Neither should be playing in the premier league.
In fact our squad badly needs a revamp, we have to many below average players and it shows.
catchy in norway
Mar 2, 2015 at 3:06 PM
Comment #19LFG
its not the system as such, its whether you have the players capable of finding there man, hopeless crosses, yeh I fully agree, but with the right CF and the right wingers, its still a very good way to attack.
Janmaat has 6 assists from crosses from our team alone, because he puts them in the right area, he actually looks at the players in and around the box,
oberan just lumps it anywhere, the only good cross I have seen him do was against stoke , Ba scored, but most of the time he cuts in and losses the ball, or gets to the by line, then pulls it back to simpson janmaat,
Real Madrid rely on pure pace ,Barca clever 1-2 passing but they both still put crosses into the box
Reyantoon
Mar 2, 2015 at 3:30 PM
Comment #20So Aarons has not offered a new deal because of his multiple hamstring injur’s
On center back:
Both Williamson and Staylor has to go and replaced.I always liked their contributions on the field,but both are not the ones who intelligently protect the back four.I prefer Fabian Schar from Basel and Winsten Reid from Westham.Both have good height and physical strength plus are cheaper options.But first,as always,we need proper manager.And it looks like it’s b/n Garde & McLaren.
jayphoto
Mar 2, 2015 at 3:37 PM
Comment #21Thats the 4th Belgian league we’ve been linked with in a week after Vainqueur, Cissokho and Mbemba. Carr gone there on holiday or something? Maybe Mash got cheap eurostar tickets?
Anyone know anything About these players or the league??
In the past Arsenal used Remi Garde to scout this league signing 4 or 5 youngsters on his recommendation though the noteable one was Eboue.
John Irving
Mar 2, 2015 at 3:44 PM
Comment #22Catchy at 2
And. Ed, has done his usual trawling in a very professional manner and also picked up on comment from the Yorkshire Post, Liverpool Echo, London Evening Standard, Daily Mail and Mirror. What precisely is your point. Why approach everything from your narrow negative perspective. Try showing some appreciation for what is a free ride for you. Given KM played for Tromso for 2 seasons you could provide some local perspective instead of your current input.
Back of a postage stamp springs to mind.
John Irving
Mar 2, 2015 at 3:48 PM
Comment #23I see that Jeff has provided input on the very subject whilst Catchy Carnt!
jayphoto
Mar 2, 2015 at 3:49 PM
Comment #24Like the schar suggestion! Shocked we’ve not tapped into switzerland more, some seriously good players have come through their clubs youth teams lately!
We really missed the boat on Dragovic. Really like Xhaka and Drmic too, both doing well in Germany!
Timm klose and Sylvain Widmer are both worth serious looks.
Would also look at Moussa Konate and Alex Merkal. Merkal in particular has huge potential
Sliema
Mar 2, 2015 at 3:54 PM
Comment #25Reyan
Aarons has been offered a new deal. He turned it down because it was a pathetic offer of 6k per week. After the potential he has shown that is nowhere near his market value. If he sees out his contract then he will be offer 2 or 3 x that salary from Liverpool, Citeh, Chelski or whichever other big club sees him as a good prospect.
The club is a mess and I know you’re an optimist but we don’t even respect talented players enough to pay them what they’re worth, just like many of the lowly shop assistants on zero hour minimum wage contracts in his stores.
On our defense. Good shouts with Reed and Schar. I wish I believed we were even in the market for these types of players (a decade ago we wouldn’t have spent more than a seconds thought on them) but I don’t, I think Lascalles and Darlow are direct 1st teamers, which is very worrying. We will cash in on Krul, Tiote and possibly Moussa… and replace with 3rd rate crocked misfits for half the price.
It’s funny over the last few years with Cabaye, Carrol, Ba, Remy, Debuchy etc we have had some quality and valuable players. How many players in our entire squad now would be worth more than 15mil? Sissoko? Possibly, I don’t think we will be offered that much however. Tiote? Not a chance, a few seasons back definitely, not now. Anyone else? I don’t actually reckon there is a single player we would be offered 15mil for.
We’ve gone so far backwards.
toonbrother
Mar 2, 2015 at 3:55 PM
Comment #26Would love to see mings come in this summer
But if arsenal are after him I don’t think we stand a chance of getting him
We need a left central defender desperately
If not mings id recommend umtiti from lyon
dexter53
Mar 2, 2015 at 4:05 PM
Comment #27Newcastle/Arsenal. Mmmmmmm. Tough call!
jayphoto
Mar 2, 2015 at 4:08 PM
Comment #28@Sliema – tricky one with the players values!
Cisses could rocket to 15m+ if he hits form and Cabella has the potential to be a big money player but needs to replicate his french form.
Personally i don’t think Sissoko is a £15m + player.
Currently id only rate Sissoko and Cisse as being worth more than 8m… These values on our players are the work of Pardew and Carver unfortunately.
krul, Tiote, Santon, Yanga-Mbiwa, Hatem Ben Arfa Have seen big drops on their values and all should havr become £10m+ players
catchy in norway
Mar 2, 2015 at 4:12 PM
Comment #29john
jeff is a pleb at best , I try not to engage with him ,
jayphoto
Mar 2, 2015 at 4:17 PM
Comment #30No way is Mbemba 20…. See theres huge doubts of his true birth date
Jeff from Benwell
Mar 2, 2015 at 4:33 PM
Comment #31catchy in norway
john
jeff is a pleb at best , I try not to engage with him
Ha Ha Ha
I didn’t realise you were a public schoolboy Catchy .
(Doffs cap and bobs up and down oleaginously, Baldrick style)
BandB
Mar 2, 2015 at 4:39 PM
Comment #32John does seem very fond of you though Jeff.
Since he first popped up a few days ago he’s mentioned what a top chap you are in almost every post.
You do attract a lot of fan mail, don’t you?
Jeff from Benwell
Mar 2, 2015 at 4:59 PM
Comment #33BandB
I thought he was you !!!!!
Ha Ha Ha
Reyantoon
Mar 2, 2015 at 5:11 PM
Comment #34Jayphoto – yes Swiss league is good place to shop these days, particularly Basel.They have some good young players suitable for PL.Dragovic is good player too but his name vanished from the media for a while now.
Sliema
I don’t believe Aarons had offered a new deal.It’s just paper talks.Yes he has potential but we only seen some flashes of his play so far.we don’t know how consistent he is to get a big deal.
Why is it a worry to make Lascelles and Darlow First team players next season?
I don’t think it’s a worry at all.Both are young and have potential to be big players for us.Darlow will be good backup keeper,much better than Alnwick,while Lascelles will be good backup defender.
They both are playing well lately under new coach,which is important.
And
I don’t think we have gone backwards much.For me,the next head coach will decide whether we have gone backwards.
I still believe we have a good squad.That messy injuries just make us poor team with lesser squad depth.We just need couple of replacements or additions to be top team, plus proper mgr to make these players flourish & take the best out of ’em
Charlie in the Gallowgate
Mar 2, 2015 at 5:26 PM
Comment #35See Sun are reporting that England footballer been caught having sex with a 13 year at some mansion in County Durham or Town.
Hope it ain’t one of our lot as we have very few fit players to start with.
jayphoto
Mar 2, 2015 at 5:26 PM
Comment #36@reyantoon/ he moved to kiev on megabucks 5/6 year deal, similar to Younes Belhanda
toon kk
Mar 2, 2015 at 5:26 PM
Comment #37Do the majority of Newcastle fans actually want a successful club any more?
I think most have excepted the MA regime and just go to watch a football match now, a win is a bonus basically.
People talk about this and that player would be a good signing, a few years ago people would say he or a player of the same standard isn’t good enough.
Basically we’re on a slippery slope that is becoming accepted.
Charlie in the Gallowgate
Mar 2, 2015 at 5:30 PM
Comment #38Player in question – Adam Johnson arrested on suspicion of having sex with under 16 year old
Belfast
Mar 2, 2015 at 5:37 PM
Comment #39Well that’s Adam Johnson’s career finished lol
John Irving
Mar 2, 2015 at 5:39 PM
Comment #40To be tagged with BandB is quite a compliment. An insult would be mistaken for that geriatric, bald and fat Tuffers. What’s good for the goose!
Hopefully he has finally found his natural home amongst the waifs and strays on the big girls blouse teamsters.