Papiss Cisse leaves Newcastle United to join Shandong Luneng

Newcastle United have announced that striker Papiss Cisse has left the club to move to Shandong Luneng.

Boss Rafael Benitez is currently in the process of reshaping his squad at St James' Park and that has resulted in the 31-year-old being allowed to move to the Chinese Super League for an undisclosed fee.

Cisse joined the Magpies in January 2012 and during his time in the North-East, he scored 37 goals in 117 appearances in the Premier League.

The Senegalese international may not be the only forward to be linking up with Shandong Luneng after it was reported that Southampton forward Graziano Pelle was close to completing a transfer.