10 Newcastle Centre-Backs Chancel Mbemba Should Look To Emulate

10. Sylvain Distin

Say what you will of his alleged mercenary nature, there is a reason that, even at aged 37, Distin is still playing in the Premier League. New club AFC Bournemouth will be hoping that Distin can bring some much-needed top-flight experience to their side but when the Frenchman first arrived on English shores, it was as a 23-year-old at St James' Park. Recruited from Paris Saint-Germain on a one-year loan deal, Distin made 28 league appearances and, during that time, showed why he has progressing so quickly in the French game. With power and pace in abundance, Distin fitted into Premier League instantly and has remained in England ever since. It is a real shame however that his monetary ambitions outweighed his footballing ones and given the subsequent career that he has had in English football, this does seem like one who got away. Newcastle's last centre-back purchase pre-Chancel Mbemba and Jamaal Lascelles was Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and, rightly or wrongly, that didn't last very long. If Mbemba is up to his £8 million price tag, Newcastle could have a lynchpin for the defence for the next 10 years - similar to the position Distin could have had within the squad.