Newcastle yesterday pushed through a move for FC Twente midfielder Cheick Tiote, subject to a work permit.
Chris Hughton: "It's one we are delighted to have done and it will certainly give us some strength in that midfield area.
"We have a lot of players who can play in there, but he is a particular type of player.
"Alan Smith would be the only defensive-type central midfield player we have and Alan has already shown his value to us.
"But we just felt we needed more options in there and he will certainly be a good addition for us."