Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote. (Photo : Getty Images)
Newcastle United FC midfielder Cheick Tiote is reported to have agreed on a £8 million transfer to Chinese Super League club Shanghai Greenland Shenhua FC and is anticipated to formalize the move anytime soon.
Talk Sport indicated that the Magpies have accepted the said bid in exchange for the services of the 29-year-old Ivorian and "he is expected to complete a move to the Chinese club later this week".
The report noted that Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren already gave his blessings to the deal upon learning that the St. James' Park residents are also set on acquiring central midfielder Jonjo Shelvey from rival club Swansea City.
If the deal pushes through, then Tiote would be joining a fellow former Magpie, 30-year-old Senegalese striker Demba Ba, in the Blue Devils' roster.
The Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast native played the last six seasons for Newcastle, appearing in a total of 141 games in all competitions.
Tribal Football said that "Tiote has struggled for regular minutes on the pitch at Newcastle so far this season and as a result, the midfielder has been constantly linked with a move away from St. James' Park".
Tiote joined the Magpies in August 2010 for a £3.5 million fee from Dutch squad FC Twente, making his debut one month later against Everton at the Goodison Park. He later went on to become one of Newcastle's strongest defensive midfielders and was a regular starter.
However, the last two seasons were forgettable for the Ivorian as his minutes and appearances became significantly less.
Aside from Tiote, the "big-spending" CSL club had also recently acquired Australian forward Tim Cahill from MLS team New York Red Bulls and Malian defensive midfielder Mohamed Sissoko from La Liga squad UD Levante.
