Emirates Stadium side ready to meet asking price in pursuit of St James’ Park star.
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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is readying a bid to land Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tioté after learning of the Ivory Coast international’s availability.
The tough tackling Magpies star has long been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium and is now said to be keen on a move away from St James’ Park and is sure to be tempted by the possibility of following former team-mate Mathieu Debuchy to the nort hLondon outfit.
Wenger has been on the look out for a steely midfielder and having previously been linked with Sporting Lisbon youngster William Carvalho, Real Madrid star Sami Khedira and Southampton battler Morgan Schneiderlin the Arsenal manager has now turned his attention to Tiote.
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Newcastle United are thought to be open to the sale of the former FC Twente man with Mike Ashley looking to sell one or two players to help balance out the renewed spending spree Alan Pardew has enjoyed this summer.
Tiote proved a huge success in his first two campaigns on the north-east, playing a pivotal role in Newcastle United’s fifth place Premier League finish in 2011/12, before suffering a bout of average form in the following season.
Last term saw the midfielder experience something of a return to form but he was said to be unhappy with the club’s decision to sell Yohan Cabaye in January, a move that led to Newcastle United suffering a real nosedive in the second half of the season.
Wenger has handed the captain’s armband to Spanish veteran Mikel Arteta, who will be asked to fulfill a holding role in the Arsenal midfield, but the former Everton man has a year to run on his deal and that fact aligned with the French manager’s assertion that Mathieu Flamini is not a first team regular will see the club make an £8m offer for Tiote.
That offer meets Newcastle United’s valuation and still represents more than a doubling of the fee paid for the player back in August 2010.
Pardew has spent big this summer with almost £30m invested in deals to bring in Remy Cabella, Daryl Janmaat, Emmanuel Rivière and Siem de Jong whilst the club have also brought in Jack Colback from Sunderland on a free transfer as well as Nottingham Forest pair Karl Darlow and Jamaal Lascelles.
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