Newcastle want Spurs’ Jermain Defoe if bid for Mevlut Erdinc fails

ALAN PARDEW is preparing a dramatic swoop for Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe.

The Newcastle boss will target the England hitman if he fails to land his top Turkish target Mevlut Erdinc.

Pards hopes to seal a £7million switch for PSG ace Erdinc, 24, when the Geordies return from the USA tomorrow.

But if the Turkey forward's representatives continue to play hardball, the Toon will instead move for the out-of-sorts Spurs star.

Defoe, 28, is rated at around £10m by boss Harry Redknapp, who wants to rejig his strike options.

And Pardew said here in Ohio: "I'm not going to use the word 'promise', it is a dangerous word. However, I am confident we will get a striker in.

"Plenty of fans have come out to see us and mentioned on more than one occasion to me, 'Where's the striker?' It is not something that is far from my mind."

Peter Crouch, as revealed by SunSport, was on Newcastle's radar but the £9m price tag cooled their interest as Pards believed it was too much to pay for a 30-year-old.

Pardew has money to spend following the £35m sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool in January.

But he knows Defoe would take some convincing to quit London for the North East.

Aston Villa left-back Stephen Warnock also remains on the Toon wishlist to bolster ranks if and when Jose Enrique moves on.