Newcastle can sign star's replacement for free as impressive Gideon Mensah stats emerge - view

Newcastle United are at risk of losing a number of players this summer, including Lewis Hall.

Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali have already left for big money and the 21-year-old could follow them, if Manchester United firm up their interest.

The Red Devils are reportedly weighing up a move for the Englishman, who joined the Magpies in 2024 from Chelsea.

Hall is under contract until 2029 and will be extremely expensive to get out of Newcastle, but a list of potential replacements will have already been drawn up amid the possibility.

Gideon Mensah may well have put himself on that list and several others, after a fine performance in Ghana's World Cup round of 32 exit to Colombia on Saturday.

The 27-year-old free agent has been among his nation's finest players throughout the tournament, and impressed again as Ghana went out 1-0 to Jhon Arias' goal.

Gideon Mensah's impressive stats vs Colombia

Even if Hall does not leave, Mensah represents a potentially superb back-up option for free.

The defender left AJ Auxerre at the end of the season after four years with the Ligue 1 club, having made 31 appearances across all competitions last season.

The 27-year-old began his journey into Europe in 2016, when he was signed from the West African Football Academy by Austrian side Liefering, later joining RB Salzburg.

Several loans followed, until the Ghana international joined Auxerre in 2022, where he has become a seasoned and reliable Ligue 1 defender.

But Mensah is now keen for a new challenge, and his performance on Saturday has proven his readiness.

He completed a successful dribble and 10 passes into the final third, but it was his defensive work that stood out.

Mensah won one tackle, three clearances, one interception, a massive seven recoveries, and won all of his ground duels.

How Mensah almost signed for Barcelona

Incredibly, in 2021, Mensah revealed that Barcelona had attempted to sign him as Jordi Alba's back-up in 2019.

The deal had looked to be all but closed, until it unexpectantly collapsed in the very final stages.

"If the deal went through, I was going to have a first-team contract on the loan while I played in the second team," Mensah told Citi Sports.

"If there was a need, I would step in as back-up. He [his agent] spoke to me in the night and the next morning I woke up to the news all over Facebook."

The leak apparently saw the move cancelled dover a breach of non-disclosure agreement, with Mensah moving to Belgium to join Zulte Waregem instead.