Newcastle must pair Aladji Bamba with his ex-teammate, they already know why

Newcastle United have agreed a deal to sign Monaco midfielder Aladji Bamba for around £34million.

The 20-year-old underwent a medical with the Magpies on Thursday and is expected to sign a long-term deal.

The move seemingly came out of nowhere, but decision-makers at St James' Park did have eyes on Monaco already.

Newcastle reportedly have genuine interest in his teammate, Lamine Camara, who is of interest to several Premier League sides this summer.

The 22-year-old is under contract for another three years at Monaco but could be sold this summer for an appropriate fee, with initial talks having already taken place.

Newcastle are expected to stay in the market for midfielders after bringing in Sean Steur and Bamba, with Bruno Guimaraes' future remaining unclear.

Lamine Camara and Aladji Bamba were partners at Monaco

Camara has made 71 appearances for Monaco since joining from Metz in 2024.

Last season, the 22-year-old made 31 appearances across all competitions, scoring three goals and providing four assists.

Bamba, on the other hand, made his breakthrough into the senior team in the second half of the season.

The France youth international briefly impressed before he was brought into the team and became a regular.

There, he regularly featured alongside Camara. The pair played together 18 times across all competitions last season, often for around an hour.

Of those games, Monaco won nine and lost just six, with many of the goals coming when one of the pair had been substituted.

Appearing in a double pivot, Camara and Bamba could well be Newcastle's future Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, should the Brazilian join the teammate in leaving.

Camara and Bamba compliment each other

Camara and Bamba work well together because they are rather different players.

The latter is tall and physically imposing, using his long legs to dispossess his opponents and win back the ball in midfield. He's massively technical, too, but often makes his impact from deep.

Camara, on the other hand, is a smaller more box-to-box midfielder, contributing far more in attack.

Both players work incredibly hard and seem to compliment each other perfectly, making a strong case for Newcastle's interest.