Papiss Cisse: 3 Reasons Newcastle's New Striker Will Be a Success on Tyneside

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has got his man; yesterday the team revealed the signing of their new No. 9—Papiss Demba Cisse.

The 26-year-old Senegalese striker, a teammate of Demba Ba's at this year's African Cup of Nations, joins the club on a five-and-a-half year contract, with Newcastle being widely reported as sending £10 million Freiburg's way in return.

Cisse has Newcastle fans excited about his future at the club; I'm going to outline the three main reasons why I'm sure he won't disappoint... 

Current Form

To date, Cisse has had a fantastic season for his former club in the Bundesliga, SC Freiburg. 

The striker has scored an impressive total of nine goals in just 17 league games, and there is every reason to believe he'll continue his form in season.

Whilst this season has undoubtedly been a wonderful one for Cisse, the star has been on Pardew's radar for a number of years now and his history in football shows why.

Cisse's form stretches back not just to the start of this current season, but since the day he originally signed for Freiburg during the 2009-10 season from Metz in France.

That first season in Germany—his first taste of top tier football, having played in the French second division—Cisse scored six goals in 13 appearances.

This may have been a single-figure tally, but when you consider the number of games he had played, which you must when analysing his 2011-12 campaign, it is still a nice total.

Last year was Cisse's breakout season in Germany, with a 22-goal season firmly placing him on the radar for not only Newcastle, but Arsenal and Spurs as well.

Three straight seasons of football averaging more than a goal every two games show that Cisse is a proven goalscorer, and whilst the Bundesliga was likely not as much of a test as the Premier League will be, they indicate that he will be a success on Tyneside.  

Relationship with Demba Ba

Much has been made of the fact that Demba Ba and Cisse will be playing together in Equitorial Guinea and Gabon during the African Cup of Nations, and rightly so.

Chemistry plays an important part in any strike partnership—just ask Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez—and a great relationship likely equals great play.

The fact that these two will have up to a month of playing time together (in addition to their previous games together) means that there will be little-to-no adjustment period for Cisse, at least in terms of playing alongside Ba.

Even outside of Ba, Cisse joins a club full of French speaking players to make him feel at home.

One downfall is that Newcastle won't receive Cisse's services until Ba returns, so he won't be the short-term replacement they were looking for. 

Instead, expect a scoring outburst when the duo return from international duty, in an attempt to push Newcastle into European football next season. 

Pardew's Transfer History

With the help of his strong scouting team led by Graham Carr, Pardew has built himself quite the transfer portfolio in his relatively short time at Newcastle.

Since arriving at Newcastle, Pardew has overseen the signings of Davide Santon, Yohan Cabaye, Garbiel Obertan, Ba and also sealed the deal for Hatem Ben Arfa after his loan spell.

Even before Pardew came along, this scouting team was in place to bring in Cheik Tiote, and words can't describe the impact he's had on this football club since joining.

The key message I'm trying to deliver here is that Pardew has a recent history of finding hidden talent and bringing in players with what can only be described as bargain transfers.

Every single player mentioned has played a gigantic role in Newcastle's return to the top half of the Premier League this season, and they've all made a name for themselves in a Newcastle shirt.

The transfer fees for all these players put together doesn't even match the £35 million fee Newcastle received for Carroll, who wouldn't necessarily find a starting place on this team if he was to turn up at the club tomorrow.

Bearing in mind that Newcastle, before this transfer, had yet to spend in double figures (of millions of pounds) under Pardew, it's amazing to think of how successful a player who they consider worth that price will play in a black and white shirt.