As one door closes ...

... another one opens, as the saying goes. In-demand striker Kevin Gameiro's decision to choose Paris St Germain over his other suitors - ourselves foremost among the pack - came as a blow, but at the same time has actually boosted our chances of securing another of our offensive targets. Even if Mevlut Erdinc isn't deemed surplus to requirements as a result of Gameiro's arrival, it seems that PSG will at least be more likely to entertain approaches for the Turkish forward.

According to Alan Pardew, Erdinc - "a very good player" - has "always been on our radar", and indeed was apparently the subject of a bid last summer, before the current gaffer arrived at St James' Park. Pardew has also had his beady little peepers trained on Demba Ba "for a while", and the striker, impressive even as West Ham slipped to relegation, is now available on a free. We face competition for his signature, though, with Everton and the Mackems rumoured to be among those also sniffing around. If, as looks likely, Kevin Nolan is reunited with former gaffer Sam Allardyce at Upton Park, then the Hammers would owe us a favour - but the fact that Ba can walk away for nothing presumably means his current club would have no say over his destination.

In other transfer news, alleged target Gervinho - until recently a club colleague of Yohan Cabaye and an international teammate of Mr T - looks to be Arsenal-bound, while we've also been mentioned amidst the speculation over the uncertain future of Birmingham midfielder Craig Gardner. Gardner was one of the Blues' few bright sparks last season and remains a saleable asset now they've dropped down to the Championship, and his chances of staying at St Andrews seem to have diminished with the departure (under a cloud) of Alex McLeish. Strangely, as far as his teammate Sebastian Larsson is concerned, the trail appears to have gone cold.