Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote’s transfer to Galatasaray has been cast in doubt after the Ivory Coast international failed his medical in Istanbul.
According to Turkish sports newspaper AMK, Tiote arrived in Turkey to complete a move to Galatasaray however, following an examination concerns have been raised about a possible knee injury.
A decision is yet to be made to whether the transfer will go ahead but the report goes onto state that Galatasaray have already begun the search for alternative names. The daily paper goes onto state that Olympique Marseille’s Lassana Diarra is also being pursued by the Lions.
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.