One figure who remains fondly remembered at Newcastle United is former striker Papiss Cisse, with the Senegalese marksman having lit up St James’ Park for a brief time in the not too distant past.
Signed as a relative unknown back in January 2012 on a £10m deal from Bundesliga side, Freiburg, the 5 foot 11 menace quickly became a household name following a blistering start to life in his new surroundings, recording a remarkable haul of 13 goals in just 14 appearances during the second half of the 2011/12 campaign.
Despite producing notable magic moments in the seasons that followed – including that stunning, outside of the boot strike against Chelsea back in November 2012 – the Dakar-born star was unsurprisingly unable to maintain that relentless form, as he scored just a further 24 league goals over the next four years.
The former Metz man – who enjoyed a brief partnership with compatriot Demba Ba in the northeast – scored just three goals in his final campaign at the club during the 2015/16 season, playing his part in the club’s subsequent relegation.
One dismal display, in particular, saw the 37-cap menace irk club legend Alan Shearer, having been ineffective in a defeat to West Ham United in September 2015, with the former England international stating: “I looked at Cisse and thought Newcastle would’ve been better with 10 men.”
That brutal assessment was a sign of the forward’s decline as he neared the end of his time in English football, with Newcastle no doubt doing well to recoup a reported £5m fee after selling him on to Chinese outfit, Shandong Luneng in the summer of 2016.
The ageing gem would go on to net 18 goals in just 34 games during his two-year stint at the club, as well as 42 goals in 65 games at Turkish outfit Alanyaspor, although that goalscoring success came outside of Europe’s top five leagues.
The £225k-rated veteran has since spent the past few seasons at fellow Super Lig sides Fenerbache and Caykur Rizespor, although the 37-year-old now plies his trade in France’s second division, having joined Amiens this summer – where he has two goals in three games thus far.
While clearly a player who can deliver the goods in front of goal, Cisse failed to provide the consistency needed during his time with the Magpies, with the club undeniably playing a blinder letting him go when they did as he had simply failed to build on his early promise.