With Joey Barton looking likely to stay on Tyneside for one more year at least, Newcastle are seemingly looking to bring in just two more players before the end of the month: a striker and a left back. While Newcastle have been linked with a lot of Premier League players in both those positions and at one point Dutch defender Erik Pieters looked like a strong possibility, it’s now more than likely that Alan Pardew will revert to type and raid the French league once more. But do Aly Cissokho and Modibo Maiga represent the final two pieces of the jigsaw for Newcastle?
The Sunday Sun is today reporting that Newcastle have made ‘significant progress’ in their efforts to sign the pair who ply their trade in the French Ligue 1, but that the Magpies will need to up their bids to meet Lyon’s and Sochaux’s valuations of their players. Both clubs are looking for £10 million to prize their assets from them, but Newcastle have so far made only £7m bids for both. Pardew will be desperate for the Newcastle board to up their bids, but £20m may be a price they’re not willing to pay.
Out of the two, Aly Cissokho is a player with a higher reputation in Europe. Lyon signed the left back from Porto in 2009 for a fee in excess of £10m, so if Newcastle could get him for less it would be a decent bit of business. The 23 year old already has Champions League experience under his belt, as well as a solitary cap for France. With Jose Enrique gone there’s a gaping gap at left back at Newcastle, one a player of the calibre of Cissokho could fill with ease.
Modibo Maiga is the potential transfer that concerns me a little bit more. I have to admit I know little about him, but seeing a player go on strike to try and force through a move, even if it is one to Newcastle, is never a good sign. He’s only been at Sochaux for one season, netting 15 times in the last campaign. Also 23, Maiga has 16 caps and 3 goals for Mali to his name, but isn’t really an out and out striker. As it stands Sochaux are seemingly unwilling to sell unless they get an offer they can’t afford to refuse, something I can’t see Newcastle lodging.
The closer it gets to the end of the transfer window, the more desperate Newcastle will become. Despite Ryan Taylor proving to be a match winner yesterday, Newcastle cannot be without an established left back until January, so I think Cissokho is an essential signing. While the Magpies need another striker on this season’s showing, they should not be held to ransom by Sochaux over Maiga. Fees will be inflated in the last 10 days of the window, so £15m for the pair maybe, but £20m no.
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we need to fill that lb spot with a left back, and a defensive on at that!!! i can deal with not scoring hatfulls of goals but only if we don’t concede em in the 1st place
Dan – you can’t win games without scoring goals, though!
you can’t lose them if you don’t concede and shola is good for one in four then you’ve got these french bad lads to settle.
If they’re prepared to spend 15m, it has to make sense to go that bit further and spend 20m, how much wld we stand to loose if relegated? aside from the money it wld put his plans of selling the club back a few years as well.. for the sake of 5m?, really? I mean he’s still made 25m for player sales if he spends the 20… go on Ash, you know you want to!
It’s clear from watching our early games that we don’t need an out-and-out striker though. We need a quick, supporting striker who can link mf to the main striker (e.g – Ameobi or Ba).
Adam – I’m banking on HBA to do that job, but his injuries are obviously a concern, with him off a ‘quality’ front man.
Have u seen twitter bring back the scarfs trending. hope it happens
It always sounds highly amusing when someone calls Stroller an “out and out striker”….aye, and I’m the king o Paris LOL!
Lets all get behind the bring back the scarves campaign on twitter and create an atmosphere to be proud of at home just like shearers testimonial when we showed the world what a place it could be.
lets pass it on and bring it on not just for the fulham match but every match