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Alan Pardew has joined the £8.25million battle to sign Cagliari striker Victor Ibarbo.

The Newcastle boss has made recruiting a forward a priority with Shola Ameobi, Loic Remy and flop Luuk de Jong leaving at the end of a traumatic season for the club.

Long-serving Nigeria international Ameobi was freed after 14 years at St James’ Park, while Remy and de Jong returned to their respective parent clubs, QPR and Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Pardew was alerted to Ibarbo, 24, after the Colombia striker said a switch to the Premier League appealed.

But Pardew faces stiff competition with Barcelona, Stuttgart, Juventus and Napoli all chasing him. Ibarbo, who has 12 months left on his contract in Italy, is also a target for new Leeds owner Massimo Cellino, who this week agreed to sell Cagliari to US investors for £69m.

But although Ibarbo is eyeing up a move to England, he is not keen on the idea of playing in the Championship.

Cagliari are resigned to losing a player who cost them £800,000 from Uruguay’s Nacional three years ago.

But they will not do a deal until after the World Cup because they know that Ibarbo’s price will be driven up if he has a good tournament.

The Italian club’s sporting director Nicola Salerno said: “There’s interest in Victor from England, and that will extend if he shines in Brazil. There are some inquiries for him from big teams.”