Toon in for striker.
Alan Pardew has not given up hope of landing Paris Saint-Germain striker Mevlüt Erdinç according to The Sun.
It also appears that Reading have alerted both Newcastle and Everton about the availability of Shane Long after their manager, Brian McDermott, admitted that it is looking increasingly unlikely that he will be able to hang on the Championship's top scorer.
Both players have been linked with Newcastle numerous times over the summer, and although no transfer action is expected until the team return from America the club are still adamant that a striker will be brought in for the new season and insist that funds are there for the right player.
Who is the right player though? Of the two who would you go for?
Yes I realise this is purely speculation, and I apologise in advance for daring to talk about incoming players, or "dreaming" as it has become known by those who seek to pour scorn on others opinions, but we can only take things on face value, and at the moment things are pointing towards us getting another striker.
Let's not forget that we have actually got a bid in for Mevlüt Erdinç as we speak, just like we had a bid for Kevin Gameiro remember, so the intention is there. I guess the most important thing is making sure we get the right player to match our intention.
Personally speaking I'd take Long over Erdinç. To me it's less of a risk as Long is already up to speed with how the English game is played compared to Erdinç who would need time to adapt. That is of course assuming that there is a preference. In reality I'd be pleased if we got another striker who is better than what we have at the moment, whoever that may be.
There are under six weeks to go now in the transfer window and we've yet to hear the "closed for business" statement coming from the club like we usually do. Call me mad if you like, but I'm still hopeful that we'll get in at least a striker before the window closes on August 31st.
Whether it will be a striker who is good enough for some remains to be seen however...
