ALAN PARDEW will be pushing for the purchase of a new centre-forward during next month’s transfer window after admitting Newcastle United remain short of attacking firepower.

With Papiss Cisse continuing to struggle with a long-standing knee problem, Siem de Jong likely to be out for another month and Emmanuel Riviere having struggled to come to terms with the challenges of English football since leaving Monaco in the summer, Newcastle will head to Manchester United on Boxing Day with limited attacking options.

Ayoze Perez’s development has tempered some of the impact of August’s failure to land another centre-forward, but Pardew accepts his squad remains light in the forward positions and is already looking to next month’s transfer window in an attempt to rectify the problem.

Newcastle’s scouting team have been trekking across continental Europe in the last few weeks watching potential signings, with Borussia Monchengladbach’s Max Kruse and Marseille’s Andre-Pierre Gignac both long-standing targets.

Domestically, Danny Ings is of considerable interest, although the Burnley striker is expected to remain at Turf Moor until the summer, when he will be able to command a significant signing-on fee as a free agent.

Given Mike Ashley’s refusal to be drawn into a bidding war, it will not be easy for Newcastle to land an experienced striker in January, but Pardew accepts there is a compelling need to make at least one attacking addition next month.

“I think we are still a striker light,” said the Newcastle boss, who has challenged his players to produce a positive response to Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby defeat when they travel to Manchester United in two days time. “Even when Siem de Jong returns, I still think we’ll need another one.

“Papiss, even taking away the flu he’s had, is still not right. He’s not 100 per cent, you can see that in the way he’s been playing, and that’s something we need to look at.

“I don’t want to talk too much about the transfer window, but we need another striker if we can get one.”

De Jong’s return would at least increase the creativity within the Newcastle ranks, with the Dutchman having made just three appearances since completing a £6m move from Ajax.

Of all the players to have joined Newcastle in the close season, de Jong was regarded as the most influential given his extensive experience at the highest level in Holland and his ability to fill the pivotal ‘number ten’ role that is so crucial to Pardew’s preferred formation.

In his absence, the likes of Moussa Sissoko, Remy Cabella and Perez have been stationed on the shoulder of a lone centre-forward to varying effect, but with de Jong just about ready to resume light training following a serious thigh injury, Pardew cannot wait to see the 25-year-old back in the first-team fold, something that should happen before the end of next month.

“I looked at him with adoring eyes this morning because in those games with packed defences, with him and Perez in the same team we’ll unlock anyone at any level,” said Pardew. “So it’s important he returns in good health.

“We’ve still got big hurdles to overcome with him – his first training session with the ball, his first real shot with that thigh – but his progress is good. He’s running and feeling good.

“I think we are looking at the end of January, and it’s been frustrating. The number ten role is such an important role in the Premier League. It’s a position that can dictate the game. (Yohan) Cabaye used to do it for us, and Moussa can play that role as well. But Siem is more like Cabaye and will help us control games.”

Until that happens, Perez will continue to carry a fair proportion of Newcastle’s attacking hopes on his shoulders, and Pardew admits even he did not expect the 21-year-old to have developed so quickly.

“If you’d said at the start of the year he would be in this position, I’d have said that was unlikely,” he said. “His physical improvement has been immense. He was already technically accomplished, but his physical attributes and mentality in games have improved massively.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want him to be a big brute of a player. He’s never going to be that, but there is a strength in holding players off the ball, and that’s probably something Remy Cabella still needs to gain.

“When Ayoze first arrived, he looked too light in training, was knocked off the ball too easily and didn’t hold his own in tight areas. But now he does and that wiry strength is a big part of his game.”

Friday’s trip to Manchester marks the start of a run of four games in the space of nine days, with none of Newcastle’s injured players expected to be available for any of the festive matches.

“We are still waiting for Tim Krul and Rob Elliot to return,” said Pardew. “We also have Siem and Rolando Aarons to come back, so we still have some big, big players to come back into this group. Is Aarons still some time away? Yes, he is. I would say he’s at least three or four weeks away.”