Marseille striker is poised to move in January after club beat off interest from West Ham, Tottenham and QPR
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has agreed a £10m deal for Loic Remy – paving the way for Demba Ba to leave next month.
Marseille striker Remy, 25, is poised to move in January in a deal which could involve Sylvain Marveaux going the other way.
It will be a major coup for Pardew and Newcastle as they have beaten off interest from West Ham, QPR and Tottenham to get Remy.
Marseille have decided to cash in this January rather than allow France international Remy to run down his contract as he was valued at £20m last summer when Spurs enquired.
But Newcastle have moved in because they are set to lose Ba who has a £7m contract buy-out clause, with Arsenal among the interested clubs.
Newcastle have moved to renegotiate Ba’s contract and remove the buy-out but with no success so the stand-off has pushed them into bracing themselves to lose him in January.
But there is also a deeper underlying problem in the strike force which Pardew believes his January merry-go-round could solve.
Ba was outspoken again this week in an outburst about style of play and his teammates, which is understood to have upset some of the squad.
Ba and his Senegalese international team mate Papiss Cisse have struggled to play together this season and that breakdown is a major factor in recent disappointing results.
Cisse was a sensation when he arrived last season with 13 goals, including the Goal of the Season in a victory at Chelsea.
But even Match of the Day pundit and Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has highlighted the fact that they do not appear to be passing to each other.
Even though they play together for club and country, the partnership has not worked. Ba played wide for much of last season while he has switched inside this term only for Cisse’s goals to dry up.
Pardew now faces having to sell Ba because of his contract but Remy coming in provides the perfect solution.
Pardew hopes Remy will give Newcastle a much needed lift as his pace and goals have made him one of Europe’s most sought after strikers.