• Premier League

Pardew confirms Bent and Remy interest

ESPN staff
July 9, 2013
Loic Remy is on Newcastle's list of targets © Getty Images
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Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has confirmed that the club are interested in signing both Darren Bent and Loic Remy.

A source told ESPN on Monday that the Magpies boss had urged his new director of football Joe Kinnear to bring in the duo as he looks to bolster his frontline for next season.

And Pardew has since revealed to the Northern Echo that the Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers strikers are both on the club's shortlist, along with a number of other transfer targets.

"Both of those players are on our list. I make no bones about that," he said. "But they are under contract at other clubs. It's difficult, you have to be careful. It's nice for our fans to hear names, but I don't want to disrupt other clubs' preparations.

"We have a list of four or five strikers who will push [Papiss] Cisse, Shola [Ameobi], Adam Campbell and Yoan Gouffran because that will be important next season. We do need two strikers. Last year, I didn't think there was enough competition in that area for a Premier League team.''

Villa boss Paul Lambert has made it clear that Bent does not fit in with his plans and is up for sale, although Christian Benteke's transfer request may change the Scot's stance.

Remy, meanwhile, attracted an £8 million bid from Newcastle in January, but the France international opted for a more lucrative offer at QPR instead. Yet with Harry Redknapp's side having been relegated to the Championship last season, the former Marseille man is also available at the right price.

Sources close to the Magpies had previously indicated that the club had no interest in reviving a bid for a player who had initially turned down the opportunity to move to St James' Park.

However, that may be about to change following speculation that Redknapp has asked for defender Steven Taylor in a player-plus-cash deal.

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