Shields Gazette journalist Liam Kennedy has ruled out Newcastle United making a sensational move to re-sign former striker Papiss Cisse.
The Senegalese striker scored 44 goals for the Mapgies during his five seasons at St James’ Park, including a remarkable 13 in opening 14 Premier League appearance during a golden run of form which nearly saw Newcastle finish fourth.
Cisse formed an impressive strike partnership Demba Ba, and after more than five years since he left the North East to the Chinese Super League, told Sky Sports News that he wants to play in England once again.
Since leaving Newcastle at the end of the 2015-2016 campaign, as well as China, the 36-year-old has been playing in Turkey – and proved that he’s still capable of scoring goals at his age by netting 26 two seasons back for Alanyaspor, the best return of his career.
However, Kennedy told Football FanCast that he isn’t convinced the striker could do a job in the Premier League:
“That’s a non-starter, his best days are long behind him. I don’t think he had many better days than that six-month period when Newcastle came close to qualifying for the Champions League.
“I like Cisse, but realistically, is he a player that can come back to the Premier League and make an impact at 36? I don’t think he is.”