Cheik Tioté has travelled to China to complete a potential £8m transfer from Newcastle United to Shanghai Shenhua, with Steve McClaren hoping the midfielder agrees a move that would release the funds needed to help him sign a new striker.
“He’s currently on his way to China to meet them,” Newcastle’s manager said. “But nothing has been finalised, nothing has been agreed. Cheik’s just going out there to have a chat with them and see how that ends up.”
The 29-year-old has been offered a three-year contract believed to be worth about £70,000 a week and will join the former Newcastle and Chelsea striker Demba Ba in Shanghai.
There is a sense that Florian Thauvin, too, could be on his way out of St James’ Park but, for the moment at least, discussions with Marseille over the £13m winger’s proposed return to the south of France have stalled and Thauvin is in the squad for Saturday’s home game against West Ham United.
McClaren said: “A lot of noise is coming from Marseille. Florian hasn’t settled and adapted as quickly as we wanted or he wanted, and he hasn’t played many times, so that’s frustrating for him. But he’s part of our squad - and he’s fit to be involved against West Ham. He’s our player and we believe in his potential.”
One midfielder absent from the squad to face Slaven Bilic’s side is Siem de Jong. The Dutchman is instead recovering from an incident that briefly threatened to leave him blind in one eye.
McClaren has rarely coached an unluckier player – De Jong has previously suffered two collapsed lungs – and earlier this week the manager feared the worst after an unnamed team-mate accidentally poked the former Ajax playmaker in an eye.
