da bet7k： According to a recent report from The Daily Mail, Cedric Soares could be set for a move away in this month’s transfer window. The 27-year-old currently plays his football at Premier League outfit Southampton and has done so since leaving Sporting Lisbon back in 2015, although struggles for regular game time under new Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has called into question his future at St Mary’s.
da dobrowin： And reports suggest that the Portugal international could make way this month to make room for Joakim Maehle, and fellow Premier League side Newcastle United must seek to take advantage by moving for the seemingly available defender, who would finally give DeAndre Yedlin something to think about down the Magpies right-hand-side.
The Breakdown
Ultimately, United States international Yedlin has made the right back spot his own at St James’ Park pretty much ever since he made the move to the North East from Tottenham back in 2016, with the defender having appeared 86 times for Rafa Benitez’s side since then.
And with appearances in all but four of their 38 Premier League matches last time round, as well as missing out only twice in their opening 22 games this term, it’s clear that the 25-year-old is the main man in the right back ranks, although much of that is down to the distinct lack of alternatives available to Benitez.
Javier Manquillo is currently the only other natural right back at St James’ Park and he hasn’t shown enough to dispose Yedlin of the spot in Benitez’s side, leaving the American as the only viable choice despite proving solid if unspectacular down the years – a good right back yes, but nothing more than that.
Yet the arrival of Southampton’s Cedric, who has proven to be a consistent performer in the Premier League for much of his time at St Mary’s, would certainly give Yedlin something to think about down that right-hand-side.
The 27-year-old Euro 2016 winner made the move to the South Coast in 2015 as Southampton sought a replacement for Nathaniel Clyne, who joined Liverpool that summer, and Cedric has gone some way to minimising the impact of Clyne’s departure by making the right back spot his own since then.
The defender played 24 times in the Premier League in his first season at St Mary’s as the club finished sixth under the guidance of Ronald Koeman, before appearing 30 times the season after as the Saints again ended up in the top half of the division, this time under the stewardship of Frenchman and now Leicester City manager Claude Puel.
Yes, things haven’t been quite as good for Cedric since then with many unconvincing displays in the last 12 months or so, but there is no doubting that he is a hugely accomplished right back at Premier League level, and one that would certainly bolster Benitez’s flagging right back ranks at Newcastle.
In fact, Cedric has the game to really push Yedlin for the first team spot were he to arrive, which could prompt the American to deliver even more down the right-hand-side, knowing that failing to do so could cost him his place in the team – at the moment, he simply doesn’t have that competition.
As such, with Cedric’s Southampton career possibly at an end, Newcastle must seek to make a January move for the 27-year-old, as doing so would give Yedlin something to think about at right back.
Newcastle fans… what do you think? Let us know!