The pressure remains firmly on director of football Joe Kinnear with Newcastle's search for striking reinforcements going nowhere fast.
The Magpies have spent recent days attempting to fix up deals for Aston Villa's Darren Bent, Lyon's Bafetimbi Gomis and, on a loan basis, QPR's Loic Remy, but have received little encouragement on any front to date.
Pardew is keen to land Bent, with whom he worked at Charlton, and has been hopeful of doing so for some time, but initial negotiations have done little to further the prospects of a transfer being completed, with Fulham seemingly prepared to invest more heavily in the 29-year-old.
Sources on Tyneside have indicated for some time that Newcastle would not match Villa's £6million valuation of the England international - indeed, the ideal scenario would be to land him for a nominal fee barely two and a half years after his move to the Midlands from Sunderland for an initial £18million.
Bent's current wages too are an issue for a club which has prided itself in recent years on keeping a tight control of finances.
Lyon have rejected the Magpies near-£7million take-it-or-leave-it bid for Gomis and the two clubs are currently at a stand-off, while QPR boss Harry Redknapp has claimed the London club will only consider a permanent transfer for Remy, who turned down a switch to St James' Park in January to head for Loftus Road instead.
Pardew has made little secret of his desperation to increase his attacking options this summer and Kinnear, whose controversial appointment has sparked such disquiet among the Toon Army, was quick to promise swift action.
However, five weeks after his return to St James', Newcastle remain the only Barclays Premier League side yet to make a senior signing and his critics are growing in volume.
Pardew's men begin the new campaign at Manchester City on August 19 having drastically under-achieved last season.
However, a squad which proved to be too small for the demands of domestic and European football - there will be none of the latter on Tyneside this time around - has since decreased further in size with the departures of Steve Harper, Danny Simpson and James Perch, as well as loanees Shane Ferguson and Mehdi Abeid.
Source: PA
