Magpies close in on Remy signing

Newcastle have reached an agreement in principle to sign striker Loic Remy from Marseille.

The 26-year-old forward has been linked with a number of Barclays Premier League clubs, but Marseille president Vincent Labrune has now indicated that the Magpies are close to clinching his signature.

"We have an agreement in principle with Newcastle, it is true," Labrune told RMC Sport radio station in France. "We have therefore given Loic permission to chat with them. For the rest, we must wait patiently."

It was reported that Remy had left the Marseille squad preparing for a Ligue 1 match against Sochaux in order to seal his move to St James' Park.

Remy's Marseille team-mate, Joey Barton, himself a former Newcastle player, appeared to indicate the deal was done when he tweeted: "Good luck to Loic in Newcastle. Don't worry i've told him what to expect. Great guy. Perfect club for him. #toonarmy"

Newcastle are yet to make any official confirmation of the deal being done, however.

Remy has featured in 14 Ligue 1 games for Marseille this season, but has only started in two of them, and only has one league goal so far this term.

However, he scored 12 goals last season in the league, having hit 15 the season before, and would give Newcastle boss Alan Pardew a significant new option up front, something he feels is desperately needed.

"It is pretty obvious that we need another striker," Pardew said after the goalless draw against Norwich.

"We didn't really have the chance to mix it up or an option so we had to stick to the game plan that we had at the start of the game. Norwich could bring on Grant Holt to change the game plan a bit but we don't have that luxury. So we need to recruit in the next couple of weeks."