Newcastle target three of France's prized assets including Kevin Gameiro

Updated: 07:15 EST, 4 May 2011

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is set to spend the first chunk of the £35million raised from the sale of Andy Carroll on three of Ligue 1's brightest talents.

The Toon Army are hopeful every penny of the record transfer will be reinvested into the squad in a bid to maintain their Premier League status.

Pardew's most pressing concern is his defence with tabs being kept on Toulouse pair Cheikh M'Bengue and Franck Tabanou, both of whom can play at left-back and have been valued at £5m.

Hot property: Lorient's French forward Kevin Gameiro is being targeted by a number of top clubs

Their arrival will cover the loss of Jose Enrique who is expected to join Liverpool, while Lorient's highly-rated striker Kevin Gameiro is the man to be charged with filling the boots of the departed Carroll.

'I haven’t put a figure on how many players I want because it depends on the renegotiations of players we have,' the Newcastle boss said in The Sun.

I want that one: Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew is going to be a busy boy this summer

'Joey Barton, Enrique and Kevin Nolan all need contract deals sorted out — and there are others I won't mention that we still need to secure.'

He added: 'We've made contact with a few clubs about their players, I think that’s important. There’s a lot to be done but the process has started. Our chief scout Graham Carr and his team have been very much on the ball and understand exactly where the European market is and the targets we have.'