Newcastle Poised To Complete Signing Of Bafetimbi Gomis On Free Transfer

Newcastle are close to signing a second striker in the space of a week with the Daily Mail indicating that a deal for Lyon's Bafetimbi Gomis is nearing completion. After confirming the arrival of Ayoze Perez from Tenerife on Friday our attention has now shifted to bringing the France international to St James' Park with owner Mike Ashley and managing director Lee Charnley holding talks with Gomis' representatives. His absurd wage demands - believed to be in excess of £100,000-a-week - looked to have scuppered any hope of a deal being struck but it seems the free agent is now willing to accept a lower salary in order to facilitate a move to Tyneside. But with no transfer fee involved the Mirror understand that Ashley is willing to offer Gomis a £4 million-a-year contract, which would see him become one of our highest earners alongside captain Fabricio Coloccini, in order to fend off interest from newly-promoted QPR. We've no doubt that the 28-year-old, who turns 29 in August, will be an excellent addition to our attack and will arrive at the Club in his prime after scoring 14 time in Ligue 1 in just 29 starts, accounting for 25% of Lyon's goals last season. Should we get Gomis - to borrow an Alan Pardew phrase - over the line then it would be another tick in the box for Charnley following the capture of the highly-rated Perez and the imminent arrival of Jack Colback from Sunderland for under £2 million. However, the caveat to that trio of signings is that we're still yet to spend serious money and disgruntlement will continue to fester amongst the Toon fans who are still irked by Ashley only shopping in the bargain isle with the £19 million from Yohan Cabaye's sale still burning a hole in his pocket.
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