According to The Northern Echo and others, Davide Santon and Rob Elliot are both on Tyneside to undergo medicals and work out the personal terms of their contracts. The fee for Santon is reported to be in the £5 million range, and while the fee for Elliot has not been revealed, a point of reference would be the £100K Charlton rejected earlier this month.
More on Santon, Elliot, and some others after the jump.
Santon is a full back coming over from Inter Milan, and has been described by some as "the next Paolo Maldini," which blows me away. Steve Schmidt of We Ain't Got No History has also called him "one of the most promising right backs in the world." In other words, £5 million is an absolute coup. I've already seen people (especially supporters of bigger clubs) dismissing this deal because of the fee paid. The logic goes that if he were a true talent, Inter would not have let him go for such a small fee. That's terrible logic for several reasons. First of all, there are way too many factors that go into any market (especially a speculative one) to draw a direct correlation between price and quality. Santon has reportedly been unhappy at Inter, and that alone is enough to drive the sticker price down. He apparently wanted to come to Newcastle, if his agent is to be believed, and while more cynical observers may chalk that up to a lack of ambition, it's not as if he has chosen Charlton.
Speaking of Charlton, the Elliot deal sort of caught me by surprise. Last I had heard, Charlton was still upset that Newcastle had dared come after one of their players and was shutting down any talk of a deal. I suppose I shouldn't have been shocked, because the whole thing ended up being part of the negotiations.
Elliot will likely slot in behind Steve Harper in the pecking order (it's hard to imagine Pardew persisting him if he's just going to sit behind Ole Soderberg), which makes him the #2 at least until Harper is healthy.
Newcastle continue to pursue other options as well. The Modibo Maiga deal appears to be on if Sochaux can find a replacement for him, and their number one target appears to be Max Gradel of Leeds, a 23 year old who scored 18 goals in the Championship last year and was linked to Newcastle earlier this summer.
All has been silent on the Cheik Tiote front...until now. He made a statement in The Chronicle saying he doesn't want to leave, and while his words are reassuring, the fact that he's having to say them isn't.
Tamas Kadar has been told to raise his game or he'll be shipped out, and Blackpool have renewed their interest in the trouble Nile Ranger.