Should Newcastle move for former Spurs striker in January – or is Cisse the man to save them?

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The Magpies have once again been linked with Jermain Defoe.

So, seven games into the Premier League season, Newcastle United have scored just seven goals. It isn’t the worst record in the division – but it’s certainly a huge factor behind them lying in 18th place.

Several new signings have failed to make an impact, while it has fallen on an old face in Papiss Cisse to bail them out twice.

Indeed, with four goals to his name in only three appearances, the Senegalese striker is Newcastle’s top scorer. But that says more about his team-mates than it does him.

With January just three months away, then, should the Magpies try to buck the trend by signing another striker?

One name to have been linked with a move to St James’ Park recently is Jermain Defoe.

The former Tottenham Hotspur striker, 32, could leave MLS side Toronto FC during the winter transfer window and is also reportedly wanted by Queens Park Rangers.

And, as Opta stats show, during Cisse’s first season on Tyneside, Defoe was the better striker. Then at Spurs, the forward scored more goals, made one more assist and won more dribbles, despite playing 600 minutes less.

Cisse was better in the air but the other key areas speak resoundingly in Defoe’s favour.

But the problem with those stats, of course, are that they are now out of date. Defoe is 32, three years older than Cisse, and, in the Senegal man, Newcastle have a goalscorer without paying for a new one.

The likes of Emmanuel Riviere, Ayoze Perez, Adam Armstrong and more, meanwhile, may bring goals if they are given patience and time.

The Magpies, however, don’t have much time, as every game without a win brings them nearer to the very real threat of a relegation dogfight. So… to Defoe, or not to Defoe?