The Turkish Super League giants Galatasaray have turned their attention towards Newcastle United’s defensive midfielder Cheick Tiote after failing to land Lucas Leiva from Liverpool earlier this month.

According to TalkSport, the Lions are keen to sign the Ivory Coast international over the coming days. The report goes onto state that both Watford and Al-Jazira are interested in the combative midfielder.

Galatasaray sporting director Levent Nazifoglu confirmed that the club would be seeking alternatives and Tiote is reported to be on the shortlist. Newcastle could be tempted into letting Tiote leave for the right fee as he is unsettled and was not picked for the first two games.

Tiote does have years of experience at Newcastle making 153 appearances for the Magpies – although all his games for the club were in the Premier League.

The 30-year-old joined Newcastle from Twente on a £3.64 million move in 2010 and has just another year remanning on his current contract.

See More
Man Utd ace to join Lukas Podolski in Germany national team clash