via www.macadogru.com

Alan Pardew is apparently looking to continue the French Revolution in Tyneside by moving towards a bid with Paris St. Germain on Turkish born striker Mevlut Erding. Both Sky Sports and ESPN, among other news sources, have reported that Newcastle are keen on the 24 year Turkish international.

Full story, and a video, after the jump.

Mevlut (Mehv-loot) Erding (properly spelt Erdinç) is a strong, finesse-type finisher who seems to do well in possession and positioning. He was PSG's leading goal scorer in the 2009-10 campaign, netting 19 goals in 36 games. Last season was somewhat of a letdown, with Erding only finding the net 9 times in 34 appearances, and now it seems that French capital side is willing to sell him, with Alan Pardew and Newcastle appearing to be the strongest suitors. With signings Yohan Cabaye and Mehdi Abeid joining Cheik Tiote and Hatem Ben Arfa, Newcastle is already beginning to take on a very French flair, which could appeal to Erding, who was raised in St. Claude.

Rumors are still flying about Pardew trying to lure Gervinho towards St. James Park, though it seems the dreadlocked striker is leaning heavily toward Arsenal. Erding would be a very solid signing for Newcastle if Pardew can get it completed, and he would almost certainly nestle into a starting position barring anything extraordinary happening (like say: Nile Ranger suddenly deciding to score goals instead of pretend to be a street thug).

The reports coming in also say that Pardew is looking at signing striker Demba Ba from recently relegated West Ham, which would could rapidly take Newcastle forwarding corps from a weakness to a relative strength. If Pardew can complete the coup and sign both, Erding's poise and vision could compliment Ba's raw power and speed very well, especially with Nolan and Barton directing traffic from behind.

Finally, one more wrench to throw into this whole thing. If Ba and Erding do end up putting on the prison stripes and becoming members of the Toon, I believe that it will make former Magpie Charles N'Zogbia take note. Zog left Tyneside due to a falling out with former manager Joe Kinnear, but has always made his love for the Toon Army known, and reportedly encouraged Cabaye to pull the trigger on the deal. If we could lure Zog back alongside Erding (and perhaps Ba), we could have some very strong scoring threats heading into the next season (and Pardew would look like an absolute genius).

Here is a video (there aren't many on YouTube currently) to whet your whistle:

Mevlut Erdinc (via Mannylatter)

UPDATE: Spurs and Lille appear to also be in the market.