Pardew: Newcastle will offer Tiote new deal
Alan Pardew said Newcastle United will offer Cheick Tiote a new long-term deal after keeping hold of the Ivory Coast international.
Tiote was the subject of interest from Russia during the transfer window, but a move away from the Premier League failed to materialise.
And manager Pardew is now desperate to negotiate new terms with the 28-year-old midfielder, who is out of contract at the end of the 2016-17 season after signing a six-and-a-half-year deal in 2011.
"I think, probably, towards the back end of the season we'll have to start talking to his representatives," said Pardew ahead of Monday's trip to Stoke City.
"We obviously had a team fighting for his services, but the finance was never really in place.
"I think the reality was that we were quite comfortable that he wasn't going to go anywhere.
"And I think his contract situation needs to be resolved at the end of the season, for sure.
"I love him. He's everything that you want in a Newcastle player.
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"He has the quality, and of course you'll never underestimate the fact that he wants to win. That's something we have to be very careful about on training days."