Newcastle agree Cisse fee with Freiburg

Newcastle United are closing in on a shock swoop for Freiburg striker Papiss Demba Cisse. Press Association Sport understands the Magpies have agreed an undisclosed fee for the Senegal international, and that he is on Tyneside today with a view to tying up the transfer. Cisse, 26, would join compatriot Demba Ba, who left for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations having scored 15 goals to date this season, on Newcastle's books. Pardew revealed at the start of the January transfer window that the club were unlikely to recruit a striker this month after ending their interest in Sochaux's Modibo Maiga, but would instead concentrate on landing a central defender with Steven Taylor sidelined for the rest of the campaign by an Achilles injury. However, it emerged in recent days that the Magpies, who failed to land a big-name forward during the summer despite a concerted search, had rekindled their interest in Paris Saint-Germain's Mevlut Erding. But it appears that it is Cisse, who has also been linked with arch-rivals Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur in recent weeks, who is now the focus of their attention. He has nine Bundesliga goals to his name so far this season and scored for his country in their 1-0 victory over Kenya in a warm-up game for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, which gets underway in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon on Saturday. Cisse looks to have become available following Sebastien Freis' arrival at Freiburg from Cologne. Ba, of course, has been linked with a move away from Tyneside this month after it emerged that he has a release clause in the contract he signed last summer as Newcastle took a gamble on his long-term fitness. That has paid off handsomely with the former West Ham United man having established himself as one of the most prolific goalscorers in the Premier League this term. While angry that news of the clause has leaked out, the Magpies are confident they can hang on to a player who has shown few signs of wanting to leave a club where he has rapidly established himself as a local hero. Attracting an international team-mate might well strengthen his ties and persuade Ba that his future remains in the north-east. Newcastle climbed back into the top six as a result of their 1-0 home win over Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, and head for Fulham at the weekend knowing an extension of their form over the first half of the season could see them fighting for European qualification. Cisse was rated at around £14m during the summer, but it is understood the fee is significantly less than that with the Magpies continuing to exploit the European market, a policy which has proved hugely productive in recent seasons.