Newcastle United: Toon in for Kuffour?

Newcastle are monitoring Sammy Kuffour's situation as Bayern Munich are unlikely to offer the powerful defender a new contract.

Magpies boss Graeme Souness is desperate to bolster his rearguard during the January transfer window and has targeted Rangers defender Jean-Alain Boumsong and Manchester United's John O'Shea.

However Gers boss Alex McLeish has revealed a determination to hang on to Boumsong - and O'Shea wants to fight for his place at Old Trafford.

So Souness may turn his attention to Ghanaian powerhouse Kuffour, who is seemingly now surplus to requirements at table-topping Bayern.

Kuffour is out of contract in Munich in the summer and Toon chairman Freddy Shepherd is believed to have been told by Bayern Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer that he will not be offering the player a new deal.

Sportinglife