Cisse odds-on to stay at Newcastle despite tour absence
Published:Papiss Cisse remains 2/5 to be a Newcastle player by the closing of the summer transfer window, despite pulling out of the club’s pre-season tour of Portugal because of a refusal to wear shirts sponsored by Wonga.
Relationships are said to be strained between player and club, with Cisse objecting to wearing the shirt branding on ethical and religious grounds and a compromise is yet to be reached.
Newcastle agreed the deal with the payday loan company back in October and the early signs are that Mike Ashley is standing firm on the deal.
As things stand, Cisse is training on his own in private as he continues to build up his sharpness after beginning his pre-season work late because of international duty with Senegal.
Newcastle were already short on strikers before the current saga, as they had already failed to replace Demba Ba when he departed for Chelsea in January.
If Cisse also leaves, Alan Pardew is only left with two recognised strikers at his disposal in the long-serving Shola Ameobi and Frenchman Yoan Gouffran.
New strikers have already been linked this summer, with talks with Aston Villa’s Darren Bent thought to be progressing and interest also shown in Loic Remy of relegated QPR.
Bent is currently 1/3 to join Newcastle by September 1st.
If the only resolution for Newcastle is to sell Cisse this summer, then it is surprisingly Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund that are deemed the most likely to purchase him.
Cisse’s previous Bundesliga scoring record was better than a goal every two games in his two years at Freiburg and Dortmund may want to bolster their striking options now in advance of Robert Lewandowski’s expected departure for Bayern Munich at the end of the upcoming campaign.
Alternatively, it is 4/1 that Cisse heads to Tottenham this summer and he could be a viable alternative if Christian Benteke is deemed too expensive from Aston Villa, while it is 10/1 he joins Liverpool.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
