12 Things Newcastle Fans Need To Know About Chancel Mbemba

11. He Is A Ball-Playing Defender, And Could Be Fabricio Coloccini's Long-Term Replacement

He's also canny in the tackle, mind... When you watch Mbemba play it is abundantly clear that he is in a similar mould to that of Fabricio Coloccini. Standing at 5ft 11in he isn't the most domineering of centre-backs, but he has the cunning of captain Colo, maybe not as much skill on the ball, but a higher level of physicality compared to the Argentine makes them pretty even on the whole. Mbemba is a player who is comfortable with both feet, which sees him fill either of the centre-back slots for Anderlecht. And when he selected at right-back, he reminds you of a young Aaron Hughes somewhat as even though this isn't his natural position, he still looks more than at home. As well as remaining comfortable going backwards, Mbemba is not afraid to maraud forward when the opportunity arises. The 20-year-old has also been selected to play defensive-midfield during his time in Belgium, which I suppose makes him Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa Mark 2. The Frenchman's first couple of appearances in the black and white came in central-midfield from the bench before he had a run in the side in his more favoured position, also being asked to fill in at right-back when Mathieu Debuchy was injured or suspended. We do love our ball playing defenders up here, and Chancel could rival another former United man who went in search for No 5 after making his name at Anderlecht... One thing that Steve McClaren will have to consider is how Fabricio Coloccini performs when he lines up alongside someone of a similar ilk to himself. This was demonstrated to perfection when the Argentine lined up alongside Yanga-Mbiwa away at Everton during the 2013-14 season. Newcastle found themselves 3-0 down at half-time as Romelu Lukaku tore the centre-backs apart, and with this in mind, it would be a bit of a shock to see Mbemba and Colo as part of the same central-defensive unit in the Premier League. They are far too similar and the right-attack would exploit them with ease. In that case, Chancel is likely to start his United career on the bench as the captain of the good ship Newcastle has an air of "untouchability" about his place in the team. Although, on saying that, not one United fan would bemoan McClaren if he started Mbemba alongside a new "big" defender (who isn't Mike Williamson) when the new season kicks off.