Newcastle United pulled off a coup today in the signing of Senegalese striker Papisse Demba Cisse. The former Freiburg striker has nine goals from 15 appearances so far this season, and finished last season as one of the top goalscorers in the Bundesliga with 22 goals to his name.

The striker signs on a 5 and-a-half year deal, and the transfer fee is thought to be in the region of £7.5 with various add-ons being thrown in too. The striker will wear the number 9 shirt which hasn’t been worn since Andy Carroll’s departure to Liverpool last January.

It remains to be seen however wether Cisse is a replacement for Demba Ba or a partner for him. A strike force of Ba and Cisse is enough to get the St. James’s Park faithful dreaming of Europe. There have been some rumours doing the rounds that Ba is now more likely to stay at Newcastle and play with his compatriot, but you would have to feel that European football would help persuade Ba ever so slightly.

A great day for Newcastle fans around the globe as many of us were thinking that only a defender was coming in this transfer window – and our attention now should be focused on that position.

Spare a thought for the Mackems who got their hopes up that Cisse would be joining them instead. C’mon lads, I’m sure Emile Heskey will do just fine.

UPDATE: The rumours mentioning Finnish footbaler Thomas Hesakmi appear to be just that, rumours spread by a bunch of smart alecs on a football forum. Nowt else better to do lads? Well played though, well played indeed.

The transfer window is well and truly open, and with Newcastle United having taken just 5 points from the last 24, there are many areas of the squad which needs strengthening.

First up doing the rumours on Twitter is Finnish footballer Thomas Hesakmi – Hesakmi appears to be a very raw talent and it could be likely that Newcastle have unearthed another diamond (along the lines of Mehdi Abeid).

Another one doing the rounds today is that Alan Pardew is interested in Swansea defender Ashley Williams. Swansea recorded their ninth clean sheet of the season as they beat Aston Villa 2-0 on Monday. Curtis Davies is another defender we’re said to be looking at, but at this point, it’s all just speculation until Mike Ashley unfurls his wallet.

Hopefully we’ll get at least a central defender in – one can hope.

When Andy Carroll left Newcastle United back in January the fans were told that all of the £35 million would be invested in players. Here are the players we’ve signed since then:

• Yohann Cabaye (around £5 mil)
• Demba Ba (Free transfer)
• Silvain Marveaux (Free transfer)
• Mehdi Abeid (Free transfer)
• Davide Santon (Undisclosed – thought to be about £5 million)
• Gabriel Obertan (£3 million)
• Rob Elliot (Thought to be around £250k)

In that same time period, we have let go or sold the following players:

• Sol Campbell (Free)
• Sheki Kuqi (Free)
• Kevin Nolan (£4.5 million)
• Joey Barton (Free transfer)
• Jose Enrique (£5.5 million)
• Wayne Routledge (£2 million)

Newcastle’s outlay on players appears to be pretty good, certainly Obertan, Cabaye and Santon are young, quality players. However, when you consider that our top goalscorers for the past season are no longer at the club, then goals become a concern – at least to everyone except Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias that is.

The one thing that has me infuriated with our inability to land a proven goalscorer during the transfer window is that we have had eight months in which to do so. I don’t hold Alan Pardew completely from blame because he’s been the one saying “judge us on September 1st.” Well Alan, it’s September 2nd and we’re no closer to having a proven goalscorer than we were when Andy Carroll left. Yes, Mike Ashley and Llambias are the money men and ultimately they’re the one’s striking the deal, but did Alan Pardew underestimate how tight fisted Mike Ashley would be? It certainly seems like it – I doubt even silver-tongued Pardew would spout the nonsense about judging the club after transfer deadline day if he didn’t expect significant progress.

Either Mike Ashley considers our good start to the season a sign of the future, or that he’s just unwilling to spend. Even still, it’s been 8 months! Putting in deadline day bids for someone who was pretty much a done deal is just the sort of desperate thing Ashley would do.

The worse thing about this though is that Mike Ashley has Newcastle United fans where he wants us. We keep going back for more, and he still continues to take advantage. Unless someone meets Mike’s valuation of the club, this could go on for a long time yet.

#AllWeCareAboutIsNUFC

It has now been confirmed that the much rumoured transfer of former Inter Milan full-back Davide Santon to Newcastle United is now completed.

Santon, an Italian International has signed for NUFC on a currently undisclosed fee (thought to be around £5 million). The Italian defender will wear the number 3 shirt and has signed on a five year deal.

The signing on Santon is quite a coup for Newcastle and fans should be pleased. However, this is only job half done as far as I’m concerned. We desperately need a new striker, preferable one on loan, and not Peter Crouch or Carlton Cole. It’s not like the board hasn’t seen this deadline coming – we’ve had all summer to make inroads on a striker, and to wait with less than two days left smacks of desperation.

However, I am prepared to eat my words if we get in someone better than we already have. Shola, Lovenkrands, Best, and Demba Ba hardly strike fear into opposition defenders (unless they’re Sunderland), so a loan deal for a striker should be a last resort.

Newcastle United secured their second major transfer of the summer as they confirmed that Demba Ba signed a three year contract. Ba will wear the number 19 shirt and speaks fluent English after his stint with West Ham.

There was a clause in Ba’s three and a half year contract with West Ham which allowed him to walk away when the hammers were relegated from the Premier League.

Ba almost signed for Stoke before passing a medical at West Ham, and the Frenchman managed to score seven times in ten league starts. His knee is suspect, but hopefully if he can stay fit, he can contribute more than his fair share of goals next season.

Other Rumours:
Confirmation of a deal for Swansea’s left back Neil Taylor is still to be announced, but strong rumours prevail that a deal will be done. The club could be waiting on Enrique to decide whether he’s going to accept the club’s offer before finalising a deal for Taylor. Tranquillo Barnetta is another name linked with a move to Tyneside, but is nothing more than conjecture at this point.

Big time rumours doing the rounds today that Yohan Cabaye, a midfielder who plays for Lille in Ligue 1, will join Newcastle United.

According to French Media, Newcastle have met the €5 million release clause, which is a steal. Cabaye has easily been one of Lille’s top performers this past season, and meets Alan Pardew’s description of a European midfielder signing for Newcastle.

To find out more about the 25 year old Cabaye, watch the YouTube video below. Now, imagine him turning out in a black and white shirt next season.

While the situation around Jose Enrique and Joey Barton intensifies, two players left Newcastle United today without much notice. Veteran defender Sol Campbell and stalwart strike Shefki Kuqi left the club with Alan Pardew looking toward the future and focusing on some of the younger players available to him.

Many thought (myself included) that Campbell would be a good influence for the players around him. An experienced England International who could provide mentorship for Steven Taylor, Mike Williamson and Danny Simpson, as well as someone who could provide backup and make appearances when necessary. Campbell actually made just eight appearances in a black and white shirt. I’m sure his time in Newcastle won’t be remembered too fondly by the Toon Army – he certainly gave us nothing to remember him for (other than being injured or too unfit to play that is).

Kuqi on the other hand became a bit of a cult figure at the club, putting in some good shifts at the training ground. However, if you can’t get a game in front of Peter Lovenkrands, Shola Ameobi, and Nile Ranger, surely it’s time to seek pastures new. I just wished Kuqi could have gotten himself a goal for the fans to remember him by, I’m sure he would too!

So, that takes two salaries of the wage bill and gives a chance for some of our youngsters to step up to the next level. In the few games Shane Ferguson has played this season, he’s certainly acquitted himself very well. If he’s just an example of some of the younger players at the club, then they deserve every chance.

However, what’s more likely to happen is that big names such as Kevin Gameiro or Gervinho will continually be linked with the Toon. Where’s the harm in that?

According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle United have increased their offer for Lorient Striker Kevin Gameiro to £10 million.

Pardew, with around £30 million to play with clearly sees a striker as one of his top priorities – I think we can all agree there. The likes of Ameobi, Lovenkrands and Ranger are not likely to push us into European contention, let alone the top half of the table. If Mike Ashley wants European football, he’s going to have to hand over the cash for quality players.

Gameiro would be a quality addition to Newcastle’s squad, but would he join a team who finished mid-table over a top European side like Valencia?

In the meantime, take a look at some of Gameiro’s goals in the video below. Future Newcastle Number 9? Let’s hope so!

It’s official. Newcastle United have accepted a bid from Liverpool for Andy Carroll with the fee believed to be about £35 million with add-ons. This is devastating news for Newcastle fans, just after the Newcastle number 9 confessed his love for the club and that he wanted to stay.

The events leading up to the transfer are shrouded in mystery though. Newcastle first rejected a £30 million bid, then a £35 million bid, and then ‘reluctantly’ accepted a transfer request from Andy Carroll. The mystery is what prompted Carroll to submit a transfer request. Was his hand forced by Mike Ashley? Is loyalty dead in football and Andy had his head turned by a more lucrative offer? We may never know. But the fact of the matter is, Andy Carroll will become a Liverpool football player and Newcastle United (or Mike Ashley) will be a lot wealthier.

What do you make of the Andy Carroll transfer to Liverpool? Are you devastated, or do you think it’s a good bit of business by NUFC?

I will leave you with this tweet from Mirror Journalist Simon Bird.

The latest name doing the rounds for an outgoing move away from St. James’s Park is none other than Wayne Routledge. It’s true to say that Routledge hasn’t hit the highs we’d have liked him to, and with Barton doing so well playing the right side of midfield, Wayne hasn’t really figured as much. However, since Newcastle’s squad is a little light on numbers, could we really risk losing the winger for the remainder of the season? QPR are said to have a definite interest in the Newcastle player, but who would be his replacement?

Surely we would only let Routledge go out on loan if we had another right midfielder lined up? Shaun Wright-Phillips’ name has been mentioned as one of those who could come in, and that would certainly be a good deal for Newcastle in my opinion. Wright-Phillips most definitely has the credentials to play in the Premier League and with City’s squad being one of the biggest in Europe, perhaps the lure of first team football would appeal to him.

In other news, Newcastle United and Joey Barton are said to be negotiating a new contract – Barton has gone on record as saying he wants to finish his career at NUFC. The wide midfielder’s current form has led to many (including the player himself) saying that he’s one of the best English midfielders right now and deserving of a call up to the England squad – not many would argue with that.