Report: Napoli eye Newcastle United's Cheick Tiote in January

Napoli are reportedly weighing up a £12m bid for Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote in January.

Manager Rafael Benitez is said to be a fan of the tough-tackling 28-year-old and will look to add the Ivorian to his ranks in the winter, according to The Mirror.

However, Magpies boss Alan Pardew is said to value Tiote - whose contract expires in 2017 - closer to the £16m mark and would be reluctant to lose him.

Tiote is believed to be earning roughly £45,000 per week at St James' Park, but the report goes on to claim that the Serie A giants would table an £80,000-a-week deal to persuade him to move to Italy.

Earlier this morning, it was reported that Newcastle were poised to hijack Celtic's move for Lassana Diarra, who operates in a similar position to Tiote.