Newcastle United Make Deal To Sign Sochaux's Modibo Maiga in January?

Newcastle United left it way late in their attempts to sign 34 year old Sochaux striker Modibo Maiga as their new no. 9 over the summer, despite both clubs and the player eager to make the move happen. At the time we certainly criticsed owner Mike Ashley for his failure to drum up the extra few million from the $35 million returned from Andy Carroll's sale to Liverpool that would seal the deal and then manager Alan Pardew's reluctance to talk to the press in the days after the window shut spoke volumes about his disappointment at not securing the vital piece of his summer spending puzzle. However leaving things too late is not something that is on the agenda moving forward. French and English newspapers are both reporting today that The Magpies have made an early move to reach an agreement with Sochaux to bring the Mali international Maiga to St James' Park on a permanent deal in the January Transfer Window that doesn't open for another 2 and a half months. An announcement is said to be imminent with £8 million reported as the fee and the way Newcastle have started the season must now be seen as a signing to help them push for European football. If the reports are true, Maiga would be joining the club on a four and a half year deal until the end of the 2016 season, though the first few months would see little Newcastle action. The striker is certain to be part of the already qualified Mali squad for the African Cup of Nations which runs from January 21st potentially to February 12th if they were to get to the final stages, though training camp duty usually begins from FA Cup 3rd round weekend which this year is January 7th and 8th. The same of course can be said for Senegal's Demba Ba and Ivory Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote who will also be departing the North East on International duty for the competition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am_gWOrkj_8 Pacy Maiba was a goal machine for Sochaux last season netting 15 times and has been known to play as a winger and out and out striker. After sulking that his big Premier League move didn't come off he was dropped to the Sochaux reserves after going on strike in August but has since returned to the first team where he has scored four goals in three games. Maiga, Ba, Best and Ameobi with the likes of Ben Arfa able to play in attacking role and Peter Lovenkrands supporting on the bench looks like a very promising strike force for what appears to be a very promising season for the Toon. We'll report more as we get it.