Modibo Maiga always figured to be the starting point for Newcastle United's January striker hunt.
After all, Newcastle and Sochaux were reportedly close to a deal late in the summer before things broke down. Maiga, of course, went on strike at the start of the season to try to push through a move, to no avail.
So Maiga would seem to be the most convenient target for United to pursue as we slowly creep toward the opening of the January transfer window. He's also the most realistic of the options that have surfaced so far.
Wednesday's report in the Journal offered four names from Newcastle's shopping list: Maiga, Twente's Luuk de Jong, Freiburg's Papiss Demba Cisse and Lille's Moussa Sow. Based on Mark Douglas' reliability in the past, we're inclined to trust what he reports. Plus, none of these are new names.
There are several reasons why Maiga would be the frontrunner to wear the No. 9 for United over the other three. For starters, he's the one who's most likely to be available.
Sochaux figures to be a midtable team in Ligue 1 this season. Keeping Maiga most likely won't lead to a European spot, and selling him probably won't mean relegation. The situations at Twente, Freiburg and Lille are drastically different.
Twente, a Europa League participant, is a challenger for the Eredivisie title. Lille is a weaker team than last season, when it won its first Ligue 1 title since 1954, but a second straight Champions League spot isn't out of the question (its current CL campaign hasn't started out well).
Freiburg, meanwhile, appears to be a major relegation candidate in the Bundesliga and selling its best player halfway through the season certainly wouldn't help its chances of beating the drop. Cisse also signed a new contract in September that's said to allow him to leave at the end of the season.
Then there's the financial aspect. The transfer fees attached to de Jong (contrary to some reports, he's not in the final year of his contract; it runs until 2014), Cisse and Sow all seem to be in the eight-figure range. In the case of Cisse, we know that will be the case based on the fact that Newcastle failed with a £10 million bid in the summer. The highest number we've seen associated with Maiga is £8 million.
Whether Maiga is the best player is a separate issue (so, too, is the fact that he'll be headed to the Africa Cup of Nations with Mali in mid-January; Sow and Cisse will be there to represent Senegal alongside Demba Ba). Given Newcastle's recent success shopping in France, though, it's sensible that they'd want to stick with that formula (and we should point out that the style of play in Ligue 1 more closely resembles that of the Premier League compared to the Bundesliga or the Eredivisie). And if we think it's down to Ligue 1 strikers, then I'll add that I'm not convinced Sow is worth his alleged price tag.
Whatever your opinion is of their on-field ability, though, it's hard to argue against Maiga being the most realistic option at this juncture.
Miaga is trouble, don't want to risk upsetting the other players. de Jong is my favorite, young and most dutch players get there head down and give 100% every week.
Posted by: Michael | 10/20/2011 at 04:25 PM
Whoever we sign in January they SHOULD NOT get the number 9 immediately. You have to earn the right to wear that shirt at St. James' Park.
Posted by: Rob Moyer | 10/20/2011 at 07:58 PM
absolutely against miaga coming to newcastle, dont want his ego and attitude there. if you're going go on strike to facilitate a transfer, says it all for me. dont want sow or cisse. honestly i think we should wait and give our youth a shot. maybe find some diamond in the rough from england or dutch league.
Posted by: Jaeger | 10/20/2011 at 09:02 PM
You guys do remember that Ben Arfa has twice gone on strike to push through a transfer, don't you? I'm not defending Maiga, but if you're going to hold it against him, then you have to do the same to Ben Arfa.
Posted by: Tom | 10/21/2011 at 02:00 AM
Ba also went on strike at Hoffenheim to force his move to West Ham. That's just how it's done over on the continent. As Maiga said, "I didn't invent it."
Posted by: Bob | 10/21/2011 at 07:09 AM