MOUSSA SISSOKO has admitted he would find it “difficult to refuse” an offer to join Paris St Germain, with the French league leaders poised to make a new attempt to sign the Newcastle midfielder ahead of next week’s transfer deadline.

PSG chiefs have been monitoring Sissoko throughout the first half of the season, and held preliminary discussions with their Magpies counterparts at the start of the month in order to investigate the possibility of returning the 25-year-old to Ligue 1.

Those talks were shelved at a relatively early stage, but sources in France claim PSG boss Laurent Blanc remains determined to sign a midfielder this month, with Sissoko one of two targets still under serious consideration.

The situation is complicated by the penalties imposed by UEFA last summer after PSG breached Financial Fair Play regulations, but the French club’s rulers remain confident they can meet Newcastle’s asking price while still adhering to their pledge to “significantly limit” the discrepancy between their income and expenditure.

Magpies managing director Lee Charnley does not expect anyone to leave St James’ Park this month, and sources suggest a €30m offer will be a prerequisite for any formal discussions over Sissoko’s future ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline.

However, that position could be difficult to maintain if Sissoko openly agitates for a return to his homeland, and his interview with French football magazine Foot Mercato included comments that bore a strong similarity to what Yohan Cabaye was saying prior to his own move to Paris St Germain last January.

“Today, PSG are one of the best clubs in Europe,” said Sissoko, who still has more than four years of his current Newcastle contract to run. “If they are interested in me, then I would have to think with my agent.

“These would be difficult things to refuse. I would think. I cannot say yes or no, but it is an interest that I would have to take into consideration.”

Sissoko has won 27 international caps for France, played at the World Cup finals and represented Toulouse in the Europa League, but the midfielder admits one of his main ambitions is to play in the Champions League.

Paris St Germain face a two-legged game with Chelsea in the first knockout round of this season’s Champions League, and look likely to qualify for next season’s competition given that they are just four points adrift of Ligue 1 leaders Lyon.

“I am 25 years old, and I will be 26 this year,” said Sissoko. “My wish is to play in the Champions League, and I have not yet had the chance to play there.

“I want to play in it. I want to be involved in big games. If I have to leave Newcastle, then that is something that I would take into consideration.”

Paris St Germain, who are also interested in Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj, are understood to have floated the possibility of Cabaye returning to St James’ Park as part of a deal for Sissoko, but the former Newcastle captain has categorically ruled out a second spell on Tyneside.

Sissoko admits he would have to think carefully about moving somewhere where he could find himself regularly on the bench, and insists he is happy to remain at Newcastle for the second half of the season.

“I am regularly selected (for France) for some time because I am playing at a club and producing good performances,” he said. “I’m not going to leave just to go and sit on the bench. There are many things that come into account and I’ll have to think about in relation to this.

“I’m focused on Newcastle. I still have four-and-a-half years of my contract, so in my head I tell myself that I’m still here for four-and-a-half years. I am at Newcastle, and here I am appreciated. I play regularly, we have a good staff and I’m enjoying every weekend. All is well for me.”

One player completed his exit from St James’ Park yesterday, with Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa completing a £5.5m move to Roma. Yanga-Mbiwa’s 20th loan appearance for the Serie A club triggered a permanent switch to the Italian capital, two years after he joined Newcastle in an £8.5m transfer from Montpellier.

Newcastle are set to complete the signing of England Under-19 international Dele Alli this month, with the midfielder set to be loaned straight back to MK Dons, and are also involved in discussions over Spain Under-19 duo Jorge Mere and David Concha.

Mere is a 17-year-old centre-half who plays for Sporting Gijon, while Concha, who visited Newcastle’s stadium and training ground last month, is an 18-year-old winger with Racing Santander. While Newcastle’s recruitment team are keen to tie up deals for the duo this month, it is unlikely that either would move to Tyneside before the summer.

Seventeen-year-old winger Callum Roberts, who made his senior Magpies debut in this month’s FA Cup defeat at Leicester, has signed his first professional contract with the club.

Head coach John Carver will not be involved in any transfer discussions that take place over the next five days, with the former assistant’s sole focus the preparation of his side for Saturday’s trip to Hull City.

Confirmation of Carver’s appointment until the end of the season has removed some of the uncertainty that had been apparent following Alan Pardew’s departure for Crystal Palace last month, and while the extension of his tenure has been met with a mixed reaction from Newcastle supporters, former Magpies goalkeeper Steve Harper sees it as a positive move.

“I don’t like uncertainty in football, so I think everybody at Newcastle on the playing and coaching side will benefit from this period of uncertainty being put to an end,” said Harper, who is expected to be on the Hull bench in three days time.