£3m bid rejected, apparently.Having strengthened the forward line, Newcastle United continue to pursue some cover in central defence. Although without much luck so far.
Now that we’ve unexpectedly strengthened our strike force with the addition of Papiss Demba Cissé, the club’s attentions have turned back to what they said was the priority position they need to get cover for. Namely the central defence. A fact that Pardew reiterated yesterday when he said:
“We want to bring a defender in, that’s what I’ve said and we’ll try and do that if we can because we ain’t got no cover. If we had an injury at centre-half, we’re going to look vulnerable. The phone will be switched on and I’ll be monitoring the transfer window”
According to Sunday’s Sun, Pardew still has his full £8m transfer budget available to him as the money to buy Cissé came from the summer transfer budget, and Pardew said:
“I wouldn’t bring a player in if I didn’t think he could challenge for the first team – full stop. If I don’t think a player can come straight into the first team, it makes no difference to me.” (more…)
Fits the bill?Strong rumours are circulating suggesting Newcastle United have an interest in Auxerre midfielder Alain Traoré.
To add to the transfer rumours I posted yesterday, there are additional rumours that we’re in hot pursuit of Auxerre midfielder Alain Traoré.
The Daily Mail claims that the 22 year-old has 6 goals in 12 games this season and, as far as I can gather, 13 goals in 47 senior matches for his career. He also has 7 goals in 15 games for Burkina Faso, which is where he is from.
I wasn’t sure where Burkina Faso was in Africa, so I looked it up: it’s on the Western sticky-out bit of Northern Africa but is away from the coast and land-locked by six countries (Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana and the Ivory Coast). Ouagadougou is the capital.
The Mail suggests that he might struggle to get a work permit though. Apparently this was a problem Manchester United had with the player when they were considering signing him 5 years ago. They wanted him to go to Royal Antwerp, their nursery club, but he was offered a contract by Auxerre and went there instead. (more…)
