Aladji Bamba squad number confirmed after £30m arrival at Newcastle

by Ash Harrison · 24 July 2026, 16:47

Aladji Bamba is Newcastle United's fourth signing of the summer so far, arriving from Monaco for £30 million.

The fee could rise to £35.5 million with add-ons as the 20-year-old follows Sean Steur, Bazoumana Toure and Ewen Jaouen through the door this summer.

While Bamba isn't being viewed as a direct replacement for Sandro Tonali, who moved to Tottenham Hotspur for £100 million earlier this summer, there is one way in which he has taken over the Italian.

After confirming the new squad numbers on Thursday, we noted how the number six and number eight were available before Aladji Bamba's signing was confirmed.

A replacement but not a replacement

The six was left vacant by Jamaal Lascelles in January, and given Bamba's preferred position is a defensive midfielder, aka a number six, we thought that would be the ideal squad number choice for him.

However, the official images posted by the club today showed that Bamba has taken over Sandro Tonali's number eight.

So while Bamba's style is very different to Tonali's, the young Frenchman has succeeded the Italian in this sense.

Keith Downie confirmed on his YouTube channel on Thursday that Bamba was on Newcastle's watch list for a while, but had Newcastle signed their first-choice midfielder Johan Manzambi, the move for Bamba would likely not have happened.

Keep 'em coming, Ross

We were sure that Manzambi would have been the replacement for Tonali, so with Bamba being the replacement for Manzambi, he's therefore also the replacement for Tonali. There. Glad we've got that cleared up.

Newcastle still have a few more players to find this summer. A goalkeeper, a right winger and at least one full-back are on the list for Ross Wilson, and it's believed that after signing four young stars, Ross Wilson may now be looking for more experienced players to fill out the squad.

As for exits, Joe Willock looks likely to leave, with Turkish side Besiktas looking at a move and of course there's whatever is happening with Bruno Guimarães, which is turning into a saga.