Newcastle focusing on new arrivals

25 June 2015 10:32

Newcastle will turn a deaf ear to suitors for their players until they have the men they want in place for the new season.

Striker Papiss Cisse and midfielder Cheick Tiote have been linked with moves away from St James' Park this summer, with Turkish club Besiktas among Cisse's potential suitors and reports from the same country suggesting Trabzonspor are interested in Tiote.

There has been speculation from France too that midfielder Remy Cabella, who struggled to make a mark in the Barclays Premier League last season, will ask for a move away from Tyneside this summer.

However, Press Association Sport understands that the Magpies will not countenance further departures from an already depleted squad until they have made significant progress in their efforts to hand new head coach Steve McClaren a group of players with which to work.

That process is ongoing, but is proving frustratingly slow as managing director Lee Charnley works to tie up targets identified in discussions with McClaren and chief scout Graham Carr.

The club is looking to recruit up to six players, armed with a promised cash injection from owner Mike Ashley, with strikers, central defenders and a left-sided midfielder among their priorities.

Among their top targets are QPR's Charlie Austin and Marseille's Florian Thauvin, and while Charnley is yet to strike a deal for either amid stiff competition, it is understood there have been positive noises from both camps.

With the players due to return for pre-season training in a little more than a week's time, pressure is mounting on Charnley to make a breakthrough, and not least from within the club.

In addition, McClaren is still to recruit his backroom staff, although former Valencia coach Ian Cathro has emerged as a serious candidate in recent days, and the club is hoping to make a decisive move on that front this week.

Meanwhile, sources on Tyneside were mystified by reports overnight that the former Derby boss wants to bring Rams and Republic of Ireland defender Richard Keogh to St James' with the club's focus in that department lying elsewhere.

Source: PA