Newcastle United appear to have missed out on one of their primary defensive targets after Bayern Munich reportedly agreed a fee with Monaco for Aymen Abdennour. The 25-year-old centre-back has been on Newcastle's radar for several seasons having impressed at Toulouse and then Monaco in Ligue 1. But French paper L'Equipe claim Bayern have moved to the front of the long list of suitors queuing up to entice him away from the Stade Louis II. Capped 33 times by Tunisia, Abdennour is regarded as one of the most-consistent defensive performers in France. Having helped Monaco to third place in the table and to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Abdennour's agent revealed a couple of weeks ago that the defender could look to move on should there be interest. Newcastle, Arsenal and Everton are just a few of the Premier League sides who would love to bring him to England for next season, but Pep Guardiola has identified Abdennour as a defender who could strengthen his squad. The 6ft 2ins centre-back started his career at toile du Sahel in his native Tunisia, spending six months on loan at Werder Bremen in 2010, before moving to Toulouse in 2011. A transfer to Monaco then followed last summer after an impressive six-month loan spell. In all he has made 140 league appearances, scoring eight times. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCultureNUFC on Twitter and Facebook.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
