Forget Marc Guéhi - this £25m defender could fix Newcastle United's defensive problems for good

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Newcastle have been linked with a £25m January bid for a defender who has impressed in Spain - but would he improve the squad enough?

Newcastle United are poised to be among the busier teams in the Premier League’s January transfer window, not least because they still have the money that they had hoped to spend on Marc Guéhi over the summer burning a hole in their back pocket – and while it doesn’t look like they’ll make another attempt to sign the England centre-half, that failed deal doesn’t seem to have dampened their appetite for a new defender.

According to Spanish news outlet AS, Newcastle are among three English sides (along with Aston Villa and Liverpool) who are considering a bid for Sevilla’s 24-year-old centre-back Loïc Badé, who could be available for a fee in the region of €30m (£25.2m), around half of the reported release clause included in the new contract he signed in September. But is the Frenchman worth the transfer fee, and would he make any difference to Newcastle’s push for a top four place?

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Who is Loïc Badé?

The Magpies had a relatively slow start to the season under Eddie Howe but have since picked up some steam, winning eight matches on the bounce while keeping five clean sheets over the course of that run. The return of Sven Botman from a serious knee injury has helped to solidify Newcastle’s defence and only the current top three of Liverpool, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest have conceded fewer goals this season so far.

That suggests that a new central defender isn’t as much of a priority as had previously been the case, with Fabian Schär and Lloyd Kelly also options, while Dan Burn’s form has improved after moving back inside after struggling last season at left-back – but both Burn and Schär are now well into their thirties, and signing some fresh blood is clearly still high on Howe’s to-do list, even if a centre-back isn’t necessarily essential in the short term.

Badé is noted as a technically proficient defender who is comfortable carrying the ball out of defence and who handles pressure on the ball well, which suits Howe’s style of play well, and at 6’3” he also adds a respectable aerial presence to Sevilla’s back line.

Although not yet capped by France at full international level, he has played with the Under-21s, was a part of the Olympic team at last summer’s Games in Paris, and was added to the France squad as injury cover in September, albeit without getting on the pitch. He comes with a relatively high pedigree, and his reputation has certainly grown since a curiously unsuccessful loan move from Rennes to Nottingham Forest in the 2022/23 season when he didn’t make a single appearance in six months. Sevilla signed him after that loan was terminated and he rapidly established himself as a first-team regular.

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Would Loïc Badé improve Newcastle?

While Badé lines up well with the way Howe likes to play, he also covers some technical needs within the current squad, as the table below demonstrates – all the data below is taken from the current season, courtesy of FBREF.

How Bade’s stats shape up against Newcastle’s other defensive optionsHow Bade’s stats shape up against Newcastle’s other defensive options
How Bade’s stats shape up against Newcastle’s other defensive options | NationalWorld

Badé has a considerably higher aerial success rate than any of Newcastle’s defenders except for the towering Burn and would help in defending against long balls and crosses while also being impressive on the ground against runners – 73.7% is a remarkably impressive number of successful challenges against the dribble.

Botman’s numbers are naturally skewed by an extremely small sample size this season but are included to offer a degree of comparison – the Dutchman usually makes slightly fewer than one tackle and interception per game based on previous season’s stats. Badé’s numbers may be inflated by the fact that Sevilla are forceHd to do more defending that Newcastle – they are stuck in the bottom half of La Liga and are not the force they once were.

One note of concern is his relatively modest rate of progressive passes, a data point which measures how often a player gets the ball either into the penalty area or a significant distance downfield. Howe likes to play a direct style and defenders who can efficiently get the ball forward can be highly valuable, but while Badé is comfortable with the ball at his feet and a relatively economical passer, he is less able to get the ball upfield than a player like Schär.

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Nevertheless, the data confirms the eye test – Badé is a fine defender whose judgement in the tackle and physical attributes will likely help Newcastle to keep clean sheets in the long run, while his age means he should have plenty of good years left in his legs. A fee in the region of £25m looks extremely reasonable, and explains why there may be considerable competition for his signature in the Premier League.

A defender is probably less important to Newcastle’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League again than a right winger, another problem position, but this could be a canny long-term move for the Magpies – if they can get it over the line as other teams circle.

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