STEVE McCLAREN thinks Newcastle United should have no problem convincing top transfer targets to move to St James’ Park and has opened the door for Cheik Tiote to stay.

McClaren is looking to make significant progress in his search to land a high profile first signing within the next fortnight and has identified players from home and abroad to pursue.

He is also weighing up which members of the squad he inherited he wants to keep and one of his main decisions is likely to be on Tiote.

The Ivorian midfielder still has two years to run on his contract but has been the source of much speculation since last summer, particularly after injury prevented him from figuring for Newcastle in the Premier League since the turn of the year.

He only made 12 appearances last season and there had been suggestions he was unsettled because of the constant talk of interest in him from Arsenal and Manchester United.

But a frustrating and disappointing season in the North-East has seen his value drop from the huge £20-25m figures being mooted after an impressive start to life at Newcastle, even though there remains interest in him from home and abroad.

McClaren, though, will be happy enough to have him in his squad next season to compete for a central midfield role having worked with him for two years in Holland.

The Newcastle boss said: “He didn’t play much for us at Twente, which was a strange one. But he’s done very well for Newcastle and I like Cheik. I know him well and I’m looking forward to working with him again.”

Tiote actually played more than McClaren can remember. The 28-year-old played 28 times in the Eredivisie during each of the seasons they worked together. The second campaign ended with Twente beating Ajax and PSV Eindhoven to the league title for the first time in the club’s history.

But Newcastle paid £3.5m for his services after that success, which arrived shortly after McClaren had departed to take over at German side Wolfsburg.

It remains to be seen whether he will still be at Newcastle in August, but there is a determination from the new head coach to transform Newcastle into one of the continent’s best teams.

Over the years there has been a belief that they have struggled to sign many of their preferred targets because it is a North-East club. However, with a 52,000 stadium which is full more often than not, McClaren has rubbished that theory.

The ex-England boss believes he can make the right noises on the recruitment front along with chief scout Graham Carr to help Newcastle back towards the top end of the Premier League – and eventually become a stronger force in Europe too.

McClaren, who led Middlesbrough to the UEFA Cup final in 2006 after winning the League Cup two years earlier, said: “I think you can always be competitive. A lot of people say it’s difficult to attract players to Newcastle United but I think it’s the opposite.

“Obviously I’ve been attracted to Newcastle United and if you speak to anyone in football they say ‘Wow, Newcastle is a big club’. It can be one of the top ten in Europe! There’s a lot of hard work to do, a lot of bridges to build.”

QPR striker Charlie Austin and Wolfsburg’s Bas Dost are two of the main targets. The latter has told those close to him in Germany that he could be interested in a switch after scoring 19 goals for the Wolves last season; 16 of those were in the Bundesliga. The 26-year-old would cost around £9m .

McClaren is also working on appointing his number two. Former Sunderland and Middlesbrough midfielder Bolo Zenden, who worked under him at the Riverside, is the leading contender despite interest from Liverpool. Phil Neville has also been approached, although he is thought to be looking at a coaching role in mainland Europe instead.