Why Newcastle would benefit by signing Boulaye Dia
As per a report by Chronicle Live, Newcastle United are looking to bring in Ligue 1 top scorer Boulaye Dia. The 24-year-old Reims striker is on Steve Bruce’s wishlist. He is valued at just £7m and is on a contract that expires in 2022.
Despite having the funds at their disposal, one hurdle that may arise in any Newcastle incomings will be the squad size. Steve Bruce admits that a few players will need to leave before they can sign more players. (h/t Chronicle Live)
Profile
Born in Oyonnax in France in 1996, Dia signed his first senior contract with the French lower-division club Jara Sud in 2017. After scoring 15 goals in 21 matches for them, the Senegalese international was snapped up by Ligue 1 club Stade Reims for an undisclosed fee the very next year.
The forward made 6 appearances for Reims’ B-team before being promoted to the senior side. Dia has appeared in 59 matches for Reims and scored 20 times. The striker is a part of Senegal’s international setup and has won 3 caps already for Les Lions de la Téranga.
![Dia (R) dribbles past Nice's Cyprien as Dante watches on. (S. Mantey/L'Équipe)](https://www.lequipe.fr/_medias/img-photo-jpg/boulaye-dia-face-a-cyprien-s-mantey-l-equipe/1500000001255373/0:0,1995:1330-624-416-75/74108.jpg)
Dia would fit the Newcastle attack
Boulaye Dia has taken the Ligue 1 by storm this season. After scoring a treble against Montepellier in a 4-0 win, Dia became the first Reims player to score a top-flight hat-trick in 52 years. Courtesy of that, the Senegalese sits at the top of the Ligue 1 scoring chart, having scored 8 goals in as many league games.
Newcastle’s new striker Callum Wilson has started the season in fine form after scoring 6 goals in 8 league games. However, his alternatives at the club are in dire form. Andy Carroll is yet to hit double figures for goals in a season since 2011. Dwight Gayle’s injury set-backs and inadequate goal return mean Steve Bruce may not entrust him with regular league starts.
Joelinton has just 2 goals in 46 league games, which is simply not good enough by Premier League standards. Despite having a stacked front-line, Newcastle have scored just 10 goals from their 9 Premier League games this season, 6 of which have come through Wilson. In light of this, it is evident that someone like Dia would fit in Newcastle’s attack and bolster their goal tally.
![Boulaye Dia will offer Wilson help upfront if he can chip in with goals at his current scoring rate. (Stephane Mahe/REUTERS)](https://cdn.readeverything.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/11/2020-10-04T164159Z_1708120574_UP1EGA41ADZPM_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-FRANCE-REN-REI-REPORT-746x372.jpg)
Wilson too could use the help up front to take some burden off his shoulders. If Dia is to go by his aforementioned valuation of £7m, then this deal would be significantly cheaper than what Newcastle have spent on forwards over the year.
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Verdict
Signing Boulaye Dia would be a low-risk, high-reward situation for Steve Bruce. The 24-year-old Senegalese is making waves in the French league and will attract interest from other clubs sooner rather than later. Brighton & Hove Albion are already monitoring the striker.
Hence, Bruce should make a decision as soon as possible to bolster his attack. The Magpies could do away with selling a few of the misfiring attackers in the upcoming transfer windows, and signing Dia would be replacing quantity with quality. Newcastle would be very smart to sign this up-and-coming Senegalese forward.