Alan Pardew has admitted that he is desperate to add another striker to his Newcastle United squad before the close of the transfer window.
The Magpies begin their Premier League season at Manchester City on Monday, and Pardew will only have two senior forwards to choose from - Papiss Cisse and Shola Ameobi.
French international Loic Remy has already arrived on Tyneside this summer, but the Queens Park Rangers loanee will miss the first month of the season with a calf injury.
This setback, and Newcastle's failure to secure the capture of Lyon's Batefemis Gomis, means that Pardew feels he is short of options in attack, an issue he is determined to address, even if he only has limited funds at his disposal.
"It's important we get another striker in," said Pardew. "Last year we were shy of strikers especially after Demba Ba left, and we need to make sure we have a sound back-room in terms of strikers.
"It's always frustrating in the transfer market but we've got a strong squad and we did some business last January which put us in good fettle because the six months of experience they got will stand them in good stead.
"I think the figures the top clubs are paying out is ridiculous. We can't compete with them on a financial level so we have to be as clever and shrewd as we can, and get players in of the same quality but for a lot less money."
Newcastle were also linked with Darren Bent before the Aston Villa striker finalised a one-year loan move to Fulham on Friday.
Joe Fish
