Newcastle United Made Last-Gasp Bid For Thierry Henry

Newcastle United made a last-gasp attempt to sign former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, according to The Daily Express.

The Magpies, who lost star striker Andy Carroll for a record-breaking £35 million at the eleventh hour on transfer deadline day, are in desperate need of reinforcements following Shola Ameobi’s cheekbone fracture at Fulham on Wednesday.

Henry, who is currently training with Arsenal ahead of the new MLS season, is already committed to the New York Red Bulls' pre-season schedule in Mexico, with their first game on March 19.

Despite this, Newcastle approached Darren Dein, son of former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein and a good friend of Henry’s, to see if a short-term deal could be done, in which Henry would have received a six-figure salary.

Speaking to The Daily Express, a Newcastle source said: “We had a real attempt to get Henry but the start of the MLS season worked against us.

“Carroll’s eleventh-hour departure prevented us getting a regular signing to replace him. But we would like to find a quality replacement, given that we have to look at players outside regular club contracts.”

Reports have emerged in recent days that Newcastle made an attempt to sign Liverpool forward Milan Jovanovic as part of the Carroll deal, whilst a deal for free agent Jeremie Aliadiere may be on the cards as the North-East club scramble to fill the goalscoring void.