Newcastle bid to land Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre-Pierre Gignac
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Newcastle United could boost the number of Frenchmen on their playing staff to 12 if a double striker swoop comes into fruition.
With shirt sponsor shy Papiss Cisse angling for a move back to the Bundesliga and Alan (De) Pardew not as vocal as the media on a move for seemingly-outgoing Aston Villa frontman Darren Bent, the Magpies are in the market for fresh striking options.
And despite the appointment of Joe Kinnear as director of football the club’s thirst for French talent has not diminished with Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis and Marseille hit man Andre-Pierre Gignac rumoured to be on their way to the north-east.
Lyon are said to be looking to cash in on Gomis, who is in the last year of his contract, and with the forward not keen on moves to Premier League new boys Cardiff or Hull Newcastle believe the 27-year-old could be theirs for just £5 million.
News of Newcastle’s Gomis interest comes hot the heels of a reported £10 million bid for his countryman Gignac.
It is rumoured that the bid has been accepted, leaving Kinnear and/or Pardew to thrash out personal terms.
Landing either or both of these front men would provide the Toon Army with a huge confidence boost after a lacklustre campaign last time out.
Goals in France are far from a guarantee of success in the Premier League, but if Gomis and Gignac can combine to score at similar rates as their current clubs , Newcastle could be much improved in 2013-14.
With Gomis bagging 49 goals in 165 league appearances for Lyon and Gignac hitting 22 in 76 for Marseille both could be expected to yield better returns than Newcastle’s current French forward Yoan Gouffran, who managed just three goals from 15 starts last term.
Newcastle are currently priced as 1,250/1 rank outsiders to win the league next season but ahead of this likely double swoop there is value to be had elsewhere when backing the Magpies.
The 8/1 on them winning the league without the big six could entice many, while odds of 8/13 on the St James’ Park outfit finishing as the top north-east club looks – as the odds suggest – nailed on.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
