PIF plot NUFC bid for £25m "revelation" with "massive potential", he's Coloccini 2.0 - opinion

An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s interest in signing Everton centre-back Ben Godfrey…

According to The Mirror, PIF are plotting a new Magpies bid for the England international after failing to land him in January.

The report claims that the defender, who the Toffees signed from Norwich for £25m in 2020, is high up on the club’s list of targets.

Eddie Howe can find Newcastle’s new Fabricio Coloccini in a deal to sign the former Canaries machine at the end of the season.

Coloccini was not the tallest of centre-backs, at 6 foot, and Godfrey is built in the same mould – standing at 6 foot himself. Instead of towering above strikers to dominate them in the air, they were and are able to use their reading of the game and athleticism to cut out attacks and defend their own goal.

The Argentine Toon icon has a career average 1.6 tackles per game along with 0.6 blocks, whilst only winning 1.3 aerial battles per match. Godfrey, meanwhile, has a career average of 1.3 tackles, 1.0 blocks and 2.0 aerial battles won per game, which suggests – along with their shared height – that they share a similar style of defending in terms of the volumes of specific defensive actions they complete.

He also has the potential to follow in Coloccini’s footsteps as a leader. Daniel Farke tipped him to become England’s captain in the future, whilst he has captained Norwich, England U21’s and Everton at points in his short career so far. This suggests that he has the leadership qualities to don the armband at St. James’ Park, just as the Argentine gem did for many years.

Godfrey has also shown that he can perform at Premier League level. Famous Toffees fan Tony Bellew called him a “revelation” last season and current Everton attacker Andros