Newcastle United have swooped to sign SC Freiburg striker Papiss Cissé for an undisclosed fee.

The Senegal international put pen to paper on a contract until the summer of 2017.

The 26-year old told his new club’s official website: “I would like to thank everybody for their welcome, and for inviting me to sign for the Club.

“It is an honour to play for such a big club and I am looking forward to it.

“I want to pay back the confidence the Club have shown in me, and give the supporters something to be proud of.

“I am aware of the huge importance of the number nine shirt, and when I spoke with the manager [Alan Pardew] he made it very clear how important this shirt is.

“I will treat it with the respect and I hope to do my very best in this shirt.”

Pardew added: “Ever since Andy Carroll left [for Liverpool], Papiss was my first choice in the specific role he has at the end of the play.

“He is a finisher with an already-established CV in the Bundesliga, where we have monitored him for the best part of two years.”

Newcastle United have signed left-back Davide Santon and ‘keeper Rob Elliot from Inter Milan and Charlton Athletic respectively for undisclosed fees.

The duo have both have signed five-year contracts at St. James’ Park.

Santon, an Italian international, told his new club’s official website: “I am really pleased to sign for Newcastle. The chance to play in the Premier League and in front of 50,000 fans at St. James’ Park was too good to turn down.

“This is an ambitious club who want to move forward and I want to help them achieve that.”

Elliot said: “Newcastle are probably the best-supported club in the country, and one of the best in the world.

“That connection which the Club has always had with the fans, and the way the team has started the season, made it a bit of a no-brainer.

“It was hard because Charlton were my boyhood club, but when you have the chance to play in the Premier League and for one of the biggest clubs then you can’t turn that down.”

Queens Park Rangers have snapped up Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton on a free transfer.

The 28-year-old former Manchester City player has put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Loftus Road.

QPR manager Neil Warnock told his club’s official website: “We’ve got a very, very good player on our hands.

“He’s coming here to show people what he can do. He wants to get back into the England team.

“He’s very enthusiastic. People will say one or two things about him, but they’ve said stuff about me in the past too, so I won’t worry about that.”

he added: “He’s a winner. Even without the armband on, he’s a captain every week.

“He’s a lot better play than people give him credit for. Hopefully we can harness all his positive characteristics and get the best out of him.

“I think with Tony [Fernandes'] backing and Amit [Bhatia] coming back on board this is a really positive step for the Football Club.”

Barton said: “It’s been quite a whirlwind, so to get things finally sorted and draw a line under it all is a great relief.

“The ambition of the Club really impressed me.

“There’s obviously a great set of lads here already and that’s why they had such a great season in the Championship.

“The gaffer is talking about adding two or three more bodies and that, combined with the potential of the Club and the new owners’ ambitions, bodes really well for the future.”

Newcastle United have swooped to sign Manchester United winger Gabriel Obertan on a five-year contract. No fee has been disclosed.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew told his club’s official website: “Gabriel is a player I’ve watched for the last couple of seasons since he arrived at Manchester United.

“He has great pace and excellent technique and he has improved his power in the last 12 months and is ready now to make a real impact in the Premier League.

“I contacted [United manager] Sir Alex [Ferguson] about him early at the start of the summer to see if there was an opportunity to bring him to Newcastle, but it wasn’t until Wayne Routledge joined Swansea that we were able to bring him in.

“His best years are ahead of him which is exactly what we want at this club, and with the backing of our magnificent fans I’m sure he will prove an excellent signing for us.”

Obertan added: “I spoke with some of my friends and Newcastle is a big club with history in England, so it’s a great move.

“I’m just really happy to be here because this is still a big club for me.

“It wasn’t really a difficult decision to come here.

“I spent two good years in Manchester but it was a bit difficult with the competition and I really needed a club where I could play more games.

“I know it won’t be easy to play each game here, because there’s a good group, but I want a fresh start in my football.”