According to reports, Newcastle United are closing in on Championship full back Joe Bryan as Rafael Benitez is desperately seeking defensive reinforcements following a catastrophic start to their Premier League campaign. The Bristol City left back has caught the attention of numerous Championship sides this summer but the Robins are determined to sell him to a Premier League club.
Not only did the Mags lose the game to Tottenham Hotspur but also lost defenders Paul Dummett and Florian Lejeune to injuries and central midfielder Jonjo Shelvey to a red card. While Benitez has an already established Jamaal Lascelles to fill the central defence now, Dummett’s absence leaves a huge void.
Despite having two options to fill the left back’s role in Achraf Lazaar and Massadio Haidara, both the players had failed to make any impression whatsoever in the Championship and aren’t expected to step up to the occasion well this time either. Benitez revealed that both Dummett and Lejeune would be out for weeks after the hamstring injuries.
Newcastle have a string of winnable fixtures in the next few games in the likes of Huddersfield Town, West Ham United, Swansea City, Stoke City and Brighton & Hove Albion before they host Liverpool. After the slow start to the league, Benitez has the perfect chance to bounce back and someone like Bryan could be a huge help.
Although Bryan isn’t the only option that Newcastle are eyeing at the moment with Genoa full-back Diego Laxalt also on the radar. But, Bryan’s acquaintance with the playing style in England has made him a priority for the Spaniard. Although Championship sides Birmingham City and Leeds United had also been very keen to land the 23-year-old, Newcastle are likely to emerge as the favourites in this case.
Birmingham have already seen a bid for the player rejected by Bristol City while Leeds United are willing to pay up to £2 million to secure his services. Bristol City head coach Lee Johnson has reiterated time and again that they are unwilling to let go of one of their best talents this summer although reports have kept linking Newcastle to him.
The English left back has had the best statistics compared to any Championship player in that position according to Who Scored in the 2016-17 campaign. He played almost every game for the club and remained injury free throughout. An academy product of Bristol, Bryan has played 200 times for them so far.
