According to reports from The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder, Newcastle United have contacted cash-strapped French club Marseille about the possibility of signing striker Loic Remy. Ryder’s report suggests that the club’s financial situation is such that they would be forced to listen seriously to any bids that materialise for their star forward, and that Marseille chiefs have informed manager Elie Baup that he must generate his own transfer funds.

News of a potential bid comes despite the news that Demba Ba has eased fears  surrounding his own future at the club, with Alan Pardew now two strikers down on last season after Peter Lovenkrands left on a free and Leon Best moved to Blackburn earlier in the window.

According to Ryder,  though Ba’s set-fee release clause expires next week, the Magpies boss is still looking seriously at his options up-front, with those two players now gone and the fact that the club will have to compete on four fronts next year with just three recognisable out-and-out strikers on the books in the shape of Ba, Cisse and Shola Ameobi.

The situation with Ba isn’t yet resolved, with that release clause still active, and the possibility that offers might be listened to outside of the clause’s lifespan anyway (provided a reasonable enough offer came in), and though Alan Pardew has been vocal about his desire to keep Ba, it is obvious that all Newcastle players have their price. The Chronicle goes on to state that while United have already held talks with Ba’s representatives over a new contract, they will continue to look at the long-term picture on Tyneside.

Ryder suggests that Remy could cost up to £15m, though with the striker’s contract up at the end of the season, Marseille are in no position to name their price, as they face the prospect of losing him for nothing in a year’s time.

25-year-old Remy would fit into Newcastle’s transfer blueprint of young players with their best years ahead of them, at a comparatively affordable price (if Ryder’s assessment is a true reflection), and his goal record in France would make him a very reasonable prospect to join Newcastle’s growing French contingent.

What do you think Newcastle fans? Would Loic Remy make a good signing? Share your thoughts below.

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