Newcastle United have held 'positive talks' over the signing of AS Monaco defender Benoît Badiashile this month, according to journalist Ryan Taylor. 

The Magpies are believed to be keen to bolster their backline further in the January transfer window following the arrival of former Atletico Madrid full-back Kieran Trippier. 

What is the latest news involving Newcastle?

According to Sky Sports, Newcastle are exploring several options as they look to bring in a new centre-back this month to aid Eddie Howe's revolution.

However, they are reportedly struggling to make any progress in a deal to sign Sevilla's Diego Carlos, while Lille have already stated that Sven Botman is not for sale at this moment in time. 

That appears to have narrowed the St. James' Park outfit's search down to Fenerbahce star Attila Szalai, who is believed to be available for around £16.7 million, and Badiashile. 

But any deal for the highly-rated 20-year-old has been complicated after he picked up a hamstring injury against Nantes at the start of January, just a few weeks after returning from a similar issue. 

Another complication may be the youngster's price tag. Sky's report revealed that Monaco are set to demand a staggering €60m (£50.5m) fee for his services, a figure that could prove to be a major stumbling block. 

What has Taylor said about Badiashile?

Despite the acquisitions of Trippier and Chris Wood, Newcastle are thought to be desperate for additional signings in order to maintain their top-flight status next term. 

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With deals for the likes of Jesse Lingard still in the works, the North East outfit could have an exciting end to the winter window, and Taylor revealed their attempts to sign Badiashile is currently an 'ongoing situation'. 

He told GiveMeSport: “The other one that is still an ongoing situation is Benoît Badiashile from Monaco.

"There were positive talks around about two weeks ago, but then the player got injured for Monaco and is expected to be out for a short while.”

Would Badiashile be a good signing?

Badiashile has established himself as one of the most promising defenders in Ligue 1 since making his first-team debut for Monaco back in 2018. 

Since then, he's racked up 105 appearances for the principality club in all competitions, earning nine caps for France's Under-21's along the way.

Although this season has been fairly stop-start for Badiashile, the 6 foot 4 beast has still averaged 2.2 clearances and 1.2 interceptions per league game, placing him in the top four amongst his teammates for both metrics. 

Whether Newcastle can get this deal over the line or not remains to be seen, but Badiashile appears to have the potential to help solve their defensive woes. 

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