Why Ahmed Hegazi is Newcastle United's Best Option to Replace the Injured Florian Lejeune

Newcastle United have been looking into new centre back options following Florian Lejeune's serious cruciate ligament injury, and one potential option that has emerged in West Brom's Ahmed Hegazi could be a brilliant option.

Having been relegated last season with the Baggies, Egyptian international Hegazi may well be looking for an escape back to Premier League football and be open to a move to Newcastle.

It had been widely expected that any replacement signed to cover Lejeune during his lengthy recovery would be a sub-par backup player. However, in signing Hegazi, Newcastle would be presented with another genuine, talented option at the back.

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The 27-year-old is undeniably Premier League quality and was one of the standout performers among a poor West Brom side last season.

With Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez's tutelage, Hegazi could develop even further and become a formidable defender - much like has occurred with Magpies captain Jamaal Lascelles.

It would also transform Newcastle's central defensive position from questionably lacking to impressively strong.

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Currently, with Lejeune out, the Tyneside club are left with just Lascelles, Ciaran Clark and new signing Fabian Schar to draw on.

Youngster Josef Yarney has also been called in to offer an extra option during pre-season but it remains to be seen whether he could cut it in the Premier League at this stage.

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Should the Magpies sign Hegazi, then you'd naturally expect him to jump ahead of Clark and maybe even Schar in the pecking order. The three players would be keenly fighting it out for positions alongside Lascelles.

It would be intense competition, which Benitez is known to want across his Newcastle team - believing it to help players thrive to perform their very best at all times.

It's a position of defensive solidity that Newcastle have lacked for many years, but fans thought that strength had finally started to form earlier this summer when Schar arrived - only for Lejeune's injury to bring things crashing back to reality. 

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It may take a bit of an outlay to sign the player - £10m at the latest reports - but the Magpies should now have some extra funds in the transfer kitty following striker Aleksandar Mitrovic's move to Fulham.

Commercially-speaking, Hegazi would be a wise investment as well.

Much like has occurred and been talked about with the signing of Newcastle's first Asian players in Ki Sung-yueng and Yoshinori Muto, Hegazi would offer another new market for Newcastle to advertise its brand: Egypt.

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It's a football-mad country that is rampant in its adoption of its Premier League stars.

Obviously, Mohamed Salah is a case in himself, but Hegazi is as much a stalwart of Egyptian football and the national team and should he move to a club like Newcastle and find good form, then it could lead to a whole new wave of Toon supporters emerging.