Newcastle will focus on buying a defender rather than a striker following confirmation that Modibo Maiga's move to Tyneside has collapsed.

The Sochaux forward, 24, was set for a £6m transfer in January.

But the deal broke down because of medical concerns over one of the Mali international's knees.

"I don't think we will be bringing a striker in after the collapse of Maiga, which we had put a lot of work into," said boss Alan Pardew.

quote You have to pay over the odds in this window - and you have to accept that if you are going to invest in this window. We won't [do that] in terms of a striker

Newcastle will lose 14-goal Demba Ba, who plays for Senegal, to Africa Cup of Nations duty in the coming weeks.

It will leave the Magpies with Leon Best, Shola and Sammy Ameobi and Peter Lovenkrands as the only strikers in the first-team squad.

But Pardew, whose side lie seventh in the Premier League table after a promising start to the season, added: "As far as we are concerned, we will go with what we have got.

"You have to pay over the odds in this window - and you have to accept that if you are going to invest in this window. We won't [do that] in terms of a striker."

Pardew added that the chance of resurrecting the Maiga deal at some point in the future was extremely unlikely.

"The player is probably more disappointed than anybody else, but these things happen and we will have to do a lot of work now between now and the summer to locate another striker," he said.

In the meantime, Pardew will concentrate on trying to bring in a defender after centre-half Steven Taylor's season was ended prematurely by an Achilles injury.

"We are looking at bringing maybe a defender in," said the manager. "We need to bring in a defender."