Bordeaux striker Yoan Gouffran has announced he is to become the latest Frenchman to join English Premier League strugglers Newcastle in the January transfer window.
“Tomorrow I will be a Newcastle player and I am proud, thank you everyone,” Gouffran tweeted.
He added: “I needed a new challenge so I hope you will respect my choice.”
Gouffran, 26, joined Bordeaux from Caen in 2008 and was part of the side that won the Ligue 1 title the following spring.
He scored 14 goals last season and has added a further eight in this campaign, but his contract was due to expire in the northern summer.
His announcement comes at the end of a day in which Newcastle signed two more players from the other side of the Channel.
The Premier League side have agreed a fee with reigning French champions Montpellier to sign France international defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, the French club announced.
Central African Republic-born Yanga-Mbiwa, 23, “has reached agreement with the English club Newcastle” and will sign pending the outcome of a medical, Montpellier said without disclosing the size of any transfer fee.
“I’ve been waiting for this. (England) is a country where everyone likes football, everyone lives for football – I really want to discover this culture,” Yanga-Mbiwa said in an interview with Montpellier’s website.
Yanga-Mbiwa extended his Montpellier contract last year by two years through to 2015 on the understanding the club would not stand in his way if an acceptable offer were made for his services.
Arsenal and AC Milan were also reportedly interested in the defender, who made his France debut last season.
Newcastle also agreed a deal with Nancy for 20-year-old full-back Massadio Haidara, the French top-flight outfit said on their website.
Nancy said agreement had been reached on a 4 million euro ($A5.1 million) deal for a player who has made 46 appearances for Nancy since a December 2010 debut against Sochaux.
The club added Haidara was heading to Newcastle for a medical.
Media in Newcastle also revealed the club are bidding to add Toulouse midfielder Moussa Sissoko to their squad as they try to haul themselves away from the drop zone.