Newcastle Monitoring Ligue 1 Top Scorer Boulaye Dia
By Mitch Wilks
Newcastle United have been linked with a move for Reims forward Boulaye Dia, who is currently top goalscorer in France's Ligue 1.
Dia has bagged eight goals from eight games so far this season which has him top of the goalscoring charts, one goal ahead of Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe.
His strong start to the season in the French top flight hasn't gone unnoticed as Dia is catching the eye of Premier League scouts. The Chronicle reports that Dia is one name on a long list of targets at Newcastle, but his form has impressed a number of other onlookers too.
The piece adds that Brighton are also keeping an eye on the 24-year-old, whose versatility sees him capable of playing both centrally and off the right flank.
The Seagulls were linked with Dia in the summer but a move never materialised, with the forward revealing in an interview with Get French Football News that an agreement couldn't be reached over a transfer.
He also admitted in the interview that he'd 'like to experience England and the Premier League' before calling it a 'dream' when asked about his future ambitions.
Newcastle do still have funds available to conduct some further business in January, although the issue at present is the size of the squad. The Chronicle quoted head coach Steve Bruce who admitted: "We’ve got five or six [first team players] training with the Under-23s, and that’s not healthy at all for anybody."
He added that Newcastle need to 'make room' in the form of offloading players, which is a possibility with the January transfer window already just around the corner.
Senegal international Dia has already bagged a hat-trick this season and signed off with a brace against Lens before the international break. The talk of a transfer to England seemingly hasn't fazed him, although it remains to be seen whether or not the Magpies will be able to free up space to facilitate a move for the forward in January.