How an Inter Milan reject could save Newcastle United’s season

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew could turn to a striker deemed not good enough for Serie A giants Inter Milan come January, as the Magpies boss aims to arrest an alarming run of form at the north east club.

The Magpies have yet to win in the Premier League this season and face a tricky home encounter with Leicester City this Saturday.

One of the biggest problems facing the Toon at present is the poor starts endured by many of their big summer signings with £6m arrival Emmanuel Riviere yet to find the net in the English top-flight.

With much of the goalscoring onus on the returning-from-injury Papiss Cisse, the club could look to alleviate some of the pressure on the Senegalese striker by recruiting additional reinforcements in January.

FC Twente striker Luc Castaignos has emerged as one of the prime candidates, with the £6m-valued striker reportedly keen on moving to England, having come close to joining Liverpool back in January 2012.

The 22-year-old nevertheless represents something of a gamble, having endured a troubled spell at Inter Milan in his younger years.

A teenage prodigy at first club Feyenoord, big things were expected of the youngster when he moved to the San Siro for €3m in 2010.

But he struggled to find his feet in Serie A, scoring just once in six top-flight outings for the Italian side in a spell best remembered for one controversial incident that saw him banned for three games after cameras picked him up spitting on Bologna defender Andrea Raggi.

Demoted to Inter’s B team as a result of the incident, the club ultimately opted to cut their losses at the end of his first season at the club with Castaignos moving to Twente for €6 million that summer.

But the striker has enjoyed something of a renaissance in Holland, with 32 goals in 72 games for the Eredivisie side.

And while it would be fair to label him an Inter flop, a similar tag could also be attributed to Newcastle stalwart Fabricio Coloccini, who failed to make the grade as a youngster at AC Milan.

A fast and exciting striker who was the top scorer at the 2009 Under-17 European Championships – a tournament that also featured Jack Wilshere and Mario Gotze among others – he could prove to be the saviour Pardew has been praying for.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £100 in free bets.