Newcastle are ready to battle Stoke City for the services of unwanted Arsenalstriker Nicklas Bendtner, reports The Daily Mail.
Newcastle were thought to be targeting another front man in the form of Eren Derdiyok who currently plays for Bayer Laverkusen in Germany, even sending chief scout Graham Carr to watch the Swiss international. However, Newcastle have been forced to focus elsewhere after Derdiyok stated he had no intentional of leaving Laverkusen, who will play in this season’s Champions League.
‘I did not realise they were watching me, but it does not make any difference to how I feel about my future,’ he said. ‘I have a contract with Leverkusen until 2013, and I am extremely happy with that. I have no thoughts about leaving, because I have managed to force my way into the team at Leverkusen, and we now have a Champions’ League campaign to look forward to. I do not want to miss out on that after helping us to qualify’ continued the Swiss player.
It leaves Newcastle to double their efforts in now trying to secure the services of Bendtner, who has been long out of favour at Arsenal, and courted by other clubs, most notably Stoke.
The Potter’s who were thought to be leading the chase for Peter Crouch, have now grown tired of the Tottenham forward, and have instead offered around £8 million for Dane.
jimmyareabi writes regularly for FootballFancast.com
