Take A Deep Breath...Newcastle Buy In Middle Of Window!
Newcasle Splash Out On New Number 9
Newcastle pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the transfer window hat today as it was confirmed that they had brought in Senegal striker Papiss Demba Cissé from Freiburg on a 5 and a half year deal for a fee reported to be somewhere in the region of 10 million although reports on the exact figure vary - maybe Harry Redknapp will be able to confirm the details in his next Spurs press conference!
I have to admit I don't know too much about the guy but his record of goals looks pretty impressive and if he can have half the impact that his international colleague Ba has had then we should have a player on our hands.
First and foremost I think it is good to see the club investing in new players and for once doing business in the middle of the transfer window rather than the usual fruitless scrambles at the end of the window where we usually end up losing someone and conveniently run out of time to bring in a replacement.
I am sure the sceptics will start the rumours going that Cissé is a replacement for Ba rather than to play with him which of course wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility but I at least hope we get to see a double Demba strikeforce until the end of the season!
If the worst case scenario is that Ba goes then I suppose you have to say its a refreshing change to see us bring in his replacement before selling him. I can't see Ba going this window and the way his season is going I think he would be foolish to. Lets hope he is interested in playing with his international team mate rather than chasing coin elsewhere.
On top of boosting the squad in terms of quality and numbers I think this is just a really good statement of intent from the club to push on an build on the good start we have had and also to maybe help persuade any current players who have half an eye on moving away that this club is ambitious.
I know a lot of people probably won't like to give credit but I think you have to take your hat off to the board for making this deal happen. They got a lot of flack for selling Carroll and then not splashing money on a replacement but they have bided their time, got Ba in on a free who has been a revelation and then now that we look certainties to stay in the Premier League for another year and even have an outside sniff of European qualification they have loosened the purse strings and signed a player on a deal that looks good for all parties.
Of course history will tell us to maybe wait and make judgements at the end of the window when we see whether any players are sold to finance this deal but at the halfway point of the window so far so good and if we can get in the defensive cover we need and not lose anyone of importance before it slams shut then this must surely go down as a good transfer window for once.
The only down side to this deal is of course the fact he is away in Africa with Ba at the moment so we are not going to see him in action for a little while but once again just good to see us getting a deal done.
I have to say I am a little surprised to see him given the famous number 9 shirt straight away so lets hope he does it proud when he eventually gets to put it on.
What are people's thoughts on this deal?
