Newcastle United continue to search for defensive additions and have now cast their eye in the direction of RB Salzburg’s Oumar Solet.
The 6’4″ centre-back has caught the eye of several clubs around Europe according to The Daily Mail, but the former France Under 20 international appears to have his heart set on a Premier League move with Newcastle and Everton interested.
Speaking to The Daily Mail, Oumar Solet certainly backs himself to be a success, saying: “I have a lot of ambitions, to be honest. I’m just on my way – for sure the Premier League excites me a lot.
Oumar Solet backs himself to be a success in the Premier League
“I feel it’s a league that I can perform in really well and it can bring me to the top. It’s probably the best league in the world. I feel if I have the chance it’s going to help make me become the top player I want to be.
“That’s exactly what I need for the next step. I’m a challenger, a competitor, a winner. I have big ambitions in football and outside football. I want to be a really big player.”
The 23-year-old certainly has the right attitude and desire that Eddie Howe is looking for, and his performances for Salzburg have lead to his stats being amongst the best outside of the top five leagues.
With height, pace and strength, Solet ticks a lot of boxes that Newcastle need in their back-line, especially pace.
Last season Solet made 25 appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga, scoring once and assisting once from the heart of defence.
No price has been mentioned for Solet yet, but Salzburg won’t want to let him leave for cheap given his importance to their side after helping them win the league title last campaign with just one defeat all season while only shipping 22 goals.
Solet has Champions League experience with Salzburg which is another box ticked for Newcastle.
On paper Solet looks like a perfect signing for Newcastle
In his interview with the Mail he went on to speak about his style of play, saying: “I want to impress the strikers, to make them afraid of you. To make them struggle. It goes all together.” said Solet. “I’m a quick player and feel like I’m strong. I think I’m a player who is ready for the 1v1 situations – I like to compete with strikers. This is my mindset.
“For any team I feel I can bring something with my quality and intelligence.”
If Solet is available he sounds ideal for Newcastle, even if he’s still not Premier League level, a couple of months training with Eddie Howe will soon have him up to speed given his mentality.
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