Cisse bid not enough for Magpies

Anzhi Makhachkala will have to come up with significantly more than 18 million euros if they are to have any chance of landing Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse.

Russian newspaper Izvestia has reported the cash-rich club from Dagestan, who saw the Senegal international at close hand as he dumped them out of the Europa League with an injury-time winner at St James' Park last season, are ready to offer the equivalent of £15.4million to secure his services.

In addition, they are said to be ready to pay the player around £50,000 a week in wages and hope the lure of another season of European football, something he will not get on Tyneside this time around, will prove attractive too.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is not averse to selling a player if the price is right, as it was with Andy Carroll in January 2011 when Liverpool offered a staggering £35m for the England international.

However, Press Association Sport understands Anzhi would have to find far in excess of £15.4m to make the Magpies even contemplate selling Cisse, who has four years remaining on his contract.

The club has received no bids for any of its players to date and their current concentration is on incomings rather than outgoings.

Indeed, manager Alan Pardew's main objective as he headed off on his summer break was to strengthen, rather than completely overhaul, his striking department with Cisse and Shola Ameobi his only recognised senior frontmen.

Goals were at a premium for the Magpies last season as they found themselves dragged into a fight for top-flight survival, and that is a situation the manager will seek to address as a matter of urgency during the closed season.

Cisse scored 13 times during the campaign, his first full season in the Barclays Premier League. However, he spent the first half of it playing second fiddle to Demba Ba, and was then used for much of the rest as a lone striker following his compatriot's January departure for Chelsea.

Cisse announced himself in English football in style following his £9m arrival from German side Freiburg in January 2012, scoring 13 goals in his first 14 games, many of them spectacular strikes.

Source : http://www.football.co.uk/newcastle_united/cisse_bid_not_enough_for_magpies_rss4236914.shtml