Newcastle United have dipped into the transfer market and are close to completing the signing of David Rozehnal from Paris St Germain. The defender arrived in the North East this week to complete the deal and the 26 year old Czech international is believed to carry a £2.7m pricetag.

Rozehnal has 34 international caps for the Czech team and has featured at a number of clubs. He is expected to put pen to paper on a 4 year contract with the Magpies and feature in their English Premier League efforts.

Competition for the defender was fierce as Borussia Dortmund and UEFA Cup champions Sevilla were said to be interested. An initial bid by United of £2m was rejected but the player expressed an interest in moving to the club. New manager Sam Allardyce has been stepping up his efforts to sign defenders after releasing a number of players when he arrived on Tyneside. He missed out on signing Tal Ben Haim who opted to move to Chelsea but has also been linked with renowned players Sam Hypia and Habib Beye.