It’s a wonder why Newcastle United ever sold Chancel Mbemba.
Indeed, the defender was cast aside by Rafa Benitez in the summer of 2018 and instead joined Portuguese giants Porto, winning a league and cup double last season. A popular figure amongst the Toon Army during his three-year stint on Tyneside, the 26-year-old would answer the two needs the club are looking for defensively.
The Athletic recently suggested manager Steve Bruce wants more pace in his backline, as well as someone better on the ball, presumably to play a higher line and try to impose themselves a touch more. Well, while Mbemba did have his shaky moments in black and white, he’s hit a new level in Portugal and proved he could look after possession despite their loss to Manchester City in the Champions League.
According to WhoScored, he attempted the most passes of any Porto player at the Etihad (33) and hit the mark with three of his six attempted long balls. In the league this season, he’s got a much higher pass completion rate (93.4%) than any regular Newcastle player and just by using our eyes, we can see he’s an awful lot faster than either Jamaal Lascelles or Federico Fernandez.
Should Chancel Mbemba ever have been sold?
Yes
No
Benitez did praise him for being a good technical player but the arrival of Florian Lejeune as a ball-playing defender and the Spaniard’s safety-first style of play ultimately cost him his place at the club. Sadly for Newcastle, he’s exactly what they need right now and it’ll cost in the transfer market to replace the qualities he has some years on.