Newcastle's Papiss Cisse Wanted By Man City As Carlos Tevez Replacement?

Manchester City will make Newcastle United's goal machine Papiss Cisse their number one transfer target in the summer, according to reports in both the Sunday Express and the People. Cisse has been a revelation since he joined The Magpies in the January transfer window and has scored 10 goals in just 8 games, becoming the latest striking sensation to wear the coveted number 9 shirt at Newcastle. If he scores in Newcastle's next match at home to Stoke he will have hit the back of the net in six successive league games, the only player to have achieved that feat this season and his goals could yet guide the Geordies back into the Champions League for the first time in a decade. City boss Roberto Mancini has been impressed by Cisse and knows he will need to add to his firing line next season, despite his side's 6-1 thumping of Norwich yesterday. Carlos Tevez scored a hat trick in that game but he is still expected to be offloaded in the summer to anyone who will pay the asking price for him and with doubts hanging over the heads of both Mario Balotelli (his current suspension possibly being the last of his nine lives) and Edin Dzeko (who has only showed his class in spurts), Mancini is looking for a consistent goal scorer to partner Sergio Aguero next season and he may look closer to home this time instead of looking abroad. Newcastle paid almost £10 million to secure Cisse's services in January from German Bundesliga side Freiburg and it would now likely take a price tag double that to get Mike Ashley to begin to listen to any offers. Magpies boss Alan Pardew revealed recently that the Newcastle owner constantly reassures him that he is "not an easy seller" and will only part with his top players if a ridiculous offer came in and Pardew will be hoping he sticks to his word with suitors likely to pounce on Hatem Ben Arfa, Demba Ba, Tim Krul, Cheick Tiote and others in the summer with overtures.