ALAN PARDEW has admitted Darren Bent and Loic Remy are two of his preferred options to strengthen Newcastle United's attacking ranks this summer.

The Magpies boss has been back at the club's training ground for the last few days putting the majority of his squad through pre-season training.

But he is hoping that recently appointed director of football Joe Kinnear can come up with a couple of new strikers in the next six weeks.

And Pardew has confirmed for the first time both Bent and Remy figure prominently in Newcastle's thinking.

He said: “Both of those players are on our list. I make no bones about that. But they are under contract at other clubs. It's difficult, you have to be careful.

“It's nice for our fans to hear names, but I don't want to disrupt other clubs' preparations. We have a list of four or five strikers who will push (Papiss) Cisse, Shola (Ameobi), Adam Campbell and Yoan Gouffran because that will be important next season.”

He added: “We do need two strikers. Last year I didn't think there was enough competition in that area for a Premier League team.”

Another striker on Newcastle's radar, Arouna Kone, last night completed his £6.5m move from Wigan Athletic to Everton, just days after another top target Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang completed a transfer to Borussia Dortmund.

Newcastle have been told to pay at least £6m for Bent, who is not training with Aston Villa's first team so far this summer, while QPR's Remy is thought to have a £7m release clause in his contract following relegation. Pardew is confident Newcastle will bring in the right players before the transfer window closes on Monday, September 2, but he has called for patience from fans.

“We are one of those clubs who find it difficult to move early,” he said. “If you're Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea … you are sure you can do your business now.

“You like things done sooner rather than later, but if I have to wait a bit longer then I have no problem with that.

“I could put a team out at Manchester City on the opening day that could win with what we have got. But we need to strengthen and I need to strengthen this squad to make it ready for a 38-game season.”