Yet he played Cisse out wide on the right (AGAIN) against Everton last night ... even though Ba was in London putting pen to paper.
Olympic Marseille player Loic Remy is on his way to Newcastle (allegedly) and he is an out-and-out striker.
So where does that put Cisse? Because I can promise you - Remy is expecting to be the main striker - just as he is at Marseille.
And I'm sure his position in the team will be well to the fore in transfer negotiations.
Cisse wreaked havoc in the second half of last season after his move from Freiburg, but it put Demba Ba's nose out of joint, probably leading to Ba's departure.
Cisse has predominantly been played on the right side this season by the United manager, with Chelsea-bound Ba having been the focal point of the team’s attacking play.
If (as exected) Remy signs – will Cisse be back up top against Norwich City on January 12?
I wonder.
Alan Pardew: “I think we all know that Papiss is a natural goalscorer.
“He’s had to play on the side, but he will play through the middle for us – there’s no doubt about that.
“We now need to make sure we’re strong enough in midfield, and get the distribution to him.
“We had some key moments of the game that went against us - it was a soft free-kick for their goal.
“It took the wind out of or sails just before half-time.
“In the second half we huffed and puffed a little bit - we certainly put in a shift - but I can’t fault the workrate.
“But we need quality and experience. Probably, that edged it for Everton - they had that on the pitch.”
Newcastle face Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup on Saturday.