Freiburg’s Papiss Demba Cisse joins the Magpies for a reported £10m. Newcastle now sports a Senegalese flavour to their team. The new no 9 joins countrymen Demba Ba and Cheikh Tiote, both enjoying outstanding Premiership seasons. All three are at the ACN, so fans will get to see him next month depending on how Senegal do in that competition.
With Hatem Ben Arfa, who if he can keep away from rappers with a grudge, adding his prodigious talent to the mix, the Toons have one of the most exciting sides in years since David Ginola, Peter Beardsley, and Alan Shearer in the mid 90s.
Cisse is speedy, a muscular presence in the box with a nose for goals, and as one of the goals shows, shows good improvisational skills. At Freiburg, he was the best thing in a relegation bound side scoring 9 goals. He joins Newcastle to reclaim that extremely bright start to their season. They lie in sixth place breathing hard on Arsenal and just four points from fourth placed Chelsea.