Newcastle Confident They Will Sign £10m Defender Despite Missing Out On Top Target

Newcastle United appear to hear returned to the market for Schalke 04 centre-back Joel Matip after accepting they will fail in their attempts to sign Monaco's Aymen Abdennour - despite the Cameroon international having insisted he wants to stay in Germany. Abdennour is being chased by some of Europe's elite clubs and the Magpies are being realistic about their chances of signing him but they retain hope that they can still convince Matip to leave the Bundesliga for the Premier League, according to the Northern Echo. Defensive reinforcements are a must following a woeful display at the back in the 2-1 pre-season friendly defeat to Club Atlas in Milwaukee, with both Mike Williamson and Jamaal Lascelles struggling.

Doubts persist over Williamson's Tyneside future, Lascelles will take time to adapt to the Premier League, and Fabricio Coloccini has fitness concerns, so strengthening at centre-back is a priority for the Newcastle hierarchy. But, in spite of Matip's public insistence that he wants to remain at Schalke, Newcastle remain adamant they can bring him to Tyneside in the coming weeks. Last Friday, 23-year-old £10 million rated Matip - who has just a year left on his Schalke deal - said:

"I am at home (at Schalke) and can imagine playing here for a long time. "I have one more year on my contract, which is for footballers always a long time - but I am confident that we can agree more."

A player who has attracted interest from the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid in the past, Matip can operate a centre-back or defensive-midfield. This versatility - and the fact Matip is a player with extensive Champions League experience - would help to plug a Magpies defence who conceded the second-highest number of goals in the Premier League last season (63). Capped 26 times by Cameroon, the 6ft 3in German-born defender played for his nation in both the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. Having risen up through the Schalke ranks, Matip represented the Bundesliga club€™s second team before being elevated to the senior side in 2009-10. To date, Matip has made 215 appearances for Schalke - scoring an impressive 19 goals from defence, and he has regularly played in the Champions League too. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.