A very exciting season awaits for Newcastle United.

Last time round, the Magpies won the EFL Cup, ending their 70-year wait for domestic silverware, and finished fifth in the Premier League, with the Champions League patch featuring rather prominently in Monday's third kit launch video.

More importantly, ahead of their Champions League return, Eddie Howe - backed by the Saudi PIF - will be determined to bolster his squad, so could some new signings be imminent?

Newcastle looking to bolster their backline

As has been widely reported, Newcastle United are close to signing Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford for £40m, thereby surely set to become the Magpies' new number one.

This is interesting, because it is pretty debatable if Trafford is a clear upgrade on existing first-choice shot-stopper Nick Pope, more on that later.

Meantime, according to the Mirror, via Fußball Transfers, Newcastle are 'stepping up their efforts' to sign Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Edmond Tapsoba, claiming that they've made a £50m offer.

They add that Tottenham are also 'interested' in signing the Burkina Faso international, while die Werkself 'are willing to negotiate a sale'.

However, having already sold Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Jonathan Tah and Odilon Kossounou for a combined £164m this summer, die Schwarzroten are not under pressure to accept a low-ball offer, so could hold out for Tapsoba's £81m release clause.

Nevertheless, having just brought in Jarell Quansah from Liverpool for a reported fee of £30m, Bayer may well be preparing for life after Tapsoba, so could he be on his way to Tyneside?

Why Edmond Tapsoba would be a better signing than James Trafford

Still only 26 years old, Tapsoba joined Bayer Leverkusen from Vitória de Guimarães in 2020, making 226 appearances for the German club to date, starting 28 of 34 Bundesliga matches as die Werkself picked up the Meisterschale for the first time ever in 2023/24.

His performances have earnt rave reviews, with journalist António Mango labelling him a "monster", while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout asserted that he is "solid as a rock".

So, let's assess how he compares to Newcastle's current centre-backs.

As the table documents, Tapsoba compares favourably to Newcastle's existing centre-backs, leading the way when it comes to ball recoveries and touches per 90, while, across the board, he was only behind Sven Botman on a per 90 basis.

This, however, is due to the fact the Dutchman played fewer than 650 minutes across all competitions last season due to various knee injuries, underlining that centre-back is a position that Howe will be looking to bolster, especially left centre-back.

Goalkeeper, on the other hand, did not appear to be such a problem position, so let's compare the two ex-Burnley goalkeepers, Pope and Trafford.

As the table highlights, when comparing the pair's most recent Premier League campaigns, Pope's numbers are actually more impressive than those of Trafford, with the caveat that the latter was playing for a hopeless Burnley side, and has certainly improved following a season back in the EFL Championship.

Nevertheless, Trafford does not appear to be coming in to fill a position of need, unlike Tapsoba.

Ben McAleer of the Guardian described the defender as calm and composed in possession, while Dylan Buesnel of Total Football Analysis agrees, praising his excellent ball retention and 'ability to keep the ball under pressure', adding that his 'defensive attributes are helping him shine'.

Meantime, Vishnu Anandraj of Breaking the Lines labels him a 'consistent performer', impressed by his 'athleticism and composure', all of which suggests Tapsoba would be a transformative signing for Newcastle and for PIF, whereas it's difficult to argue that the same could be said of Trafford.