Newcastle in for Slovakian centre half Tomas Hubocan?

Tomas Hubocan (L)

The careers of Newcastle’s Fabricio Coloccini and Danny Simpson could be all but over. The search for the replacement has already begun, the latest name to be linked with a move to St. James Park is the Slovakian centre half Tomas Hubocan.

This is what Michal Holescak, the agent of the 27 year defender said,

“Newcastle and Tottenham are interested in him, but we had contacts with Inter Milan and Napoli.

“Tomas is a top defender, a player for big European teams. However, he is happy in Spalletti’s team. He’s focused on the Russian Premier League and on the Europa League.”

Hubocan started his career at the Slovakian club MSK Zilina before making the switch to Zenit St. Petersburg for €3.8 million, the highest ever paid to a Slovakian club. In his five years since then at St. Petersburg, he has played in 130 games in all competitions.

The 6’0 tall centre half can also play as a full back and we all know that Alan Pardew likes versatility in his players as that provides him the opportunity to shuffle his pack and try different options. He has also been a regular for the Slovakian national team alongside Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel.

It’s not sure whether Newcastle would want to get into a bidding war with the calibre of teams mentioned in the running for a 27 year old defender but it would be nice to have a solid experienced back up to Steven Taylor and Mapou Yanga – Mbiwa who in all likelihood would be the first choice centre back pairing next season.

Some may have watched him in action against Liverpool in the round of 32 in which St. Petersburg knocked out Liverpool on away goals after winning 2-0 Petrovsky Stadium in Russia and losing 3-1 at Anfield.