10 Players Newcastle Should Break Their Transfer Record For

5. Joel Matip

Age: 23 Club: Schalke 04 Nationality: Cameroonian Estimated Market Value: £12 million-17 million League Apps (2014-15): 21 Newcastle United have been heavily linked with Schalke€™s Joel Matip this summer and made enquires over the player€™s availability towards the end of June. One thing is for certain, the Cameroonian centre-back would give Newcastle United a much stronger presence at the back because he is an expert tackler. Matip is a towering centre-back who can also slot in as a defensive-midfielder and would offer Steve McClaren plenty of cover as well as versatility. The player has been linked with Real Madrid in recent weeks but if the Magpies could place a early bid that matches Schalke's estimations then they could sign a first-class defender with Champions League experience. At just 23 years old it wouldn't be such a bad move to place a weighty bid as Matip is developing into a fine central-defender.