Newcastle United and Tottenham eye £35m move for title chasing French defender

Newcastle United are expected to be active in Eddie Howe’s fifth transfer window with the club. The Magpies are believed to be in the market for a number of positions as they bid to avoid a repeat of the injury crisis that has at time’s hindered their form both in Europe and in the Premier League in the first half of the campaign.

Newcastle have at times been excellent with victories over PSG, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal all coming this season - but sub standard performances against the likes of Bournemouth, Brighton, Everton and Tottenham have left the team lagging behind by five points in the race for Champions League football.

One of the key areas that Howe is keen to bolster is believed to be the defence and a recent injury to Fabian Schar only amplifies that need, despite the return of both Sven Botman and Dan Burn. The Magpies added youth and depth to both full back areas in the summer with the signings of Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall and it is now thought that central defence will be a priority in January.

Newcastle Chronicle claim that the North East giants are keeping close eyes on French defender Jean-Clair Tobido who is enjoying an excellent season in Ligue 1. Tobido is a member of the Nice team that are competing for the league title this season and they currently find themselves in second place with 32 points from 16 games. The 23-year-old has played 14 times in this period and his team have impressively only conceded nine goals all season in Ligue 1.

The ex-Barcelona man is in his fourth season at the Allianz Riviera and has impressed in all of his first three seasons at the club. Such consistency has earned him a spot in France’s international squad in recent months and he made his competitive debut during a record-breaking 14-0 win over Gibraltar.

Reports from the Daily Mail suggest that Tobido is valued at around £35m and the outlet suspects that Tottenham could also make a move for the player as they look to reinvest some of the money made by the Harry Kane sale.