It appears that Alan Pardew may be willing to allow Cheick Tiote to leave this summer if his valuation is met. This has led to a host of clubs showing interest in the defensive midfielder.
A bid of around £8 million could be enough to tempt them to cash in on the player.
According to The Express, Arsenal are one of the clubs linked with the 28-year-old as they look for a dedicated and powerful midfielder to provide defensive cover. The North London side may have to battle it out with clubs from Germany, Spain and Russia though if they want to secure his services for the upcoming season.
If the move did go through it would mean Tiote would join his former teammate Mathieu Debuchy who left St. James Park earlier in the summer to join The Gunners.
The 28-year-old joined Newcastle United in 2010 and made an immediate impact on the squad, becoming a regular starter. He has made 107 Premier League appearances for the North East club since his move from Dutch side Twente. He also has 47 caps for The Ivory Coast.
Tiote has impressed pundits with his aggressive tackling and energetic work rate. However, he has also been known to have discipline problems, regularly picking up yellow cards in his career.
Fans and pundits have been crying out for Arsenal to sign a strong defensive midfielder all summer. They have been linked with the likes of Sami Khedira and William Carvalho throughout the transfer window, fuelling speculation that manager Arsene Wenger is looking to bring in a player to cover that position.
The Ivorian could be the perfect solution to that problem. He has plenty of Premier League experience and so would need no time to settle into the league while his low fee makes him a much better value-for-money deal than other potential signings. Nathan Gibson
CLICK FOR TIOTE Arsenal fans: good option?
olaitan
Aug 12, 2014 at 7:18 pm
tiote will good for arsenal,pls sir go for this guy.
gooner4life
Aug 12, 2014 at 8:48 pm
He’s a tough tackling player who seems to get a lot of yellow cards.But he would certainly bring some muscle into our midfield.He would be a good alternative if we dontget any of the other players we are supposed to be in for so we will wait and see what Arsene does.