Massadio's In For A Tweet

By Dan King - Newcastle United Club Reporter

He may only have signed for Newcastle on Thursday evening but Massaido Haïdara has already experienced the passion of the Magpies supporters - after seeing his Twitter followers increase by around 50 per cent in less than 24 hours.

The 20-year-old had just under 5,000 followers on the social media site before his move to St. James' Park was made official, but has seen that number rise to almost 7,000 since signing for United.

His official account is @MassadioHaidara and he knows that, such is Geordie faithful's thirst for information on their team and players, his followers are likely to continue to rise over the next few weeks. 

"I think so," he smiled. "Obviously Newcastle's a massive club, it has a large support base, and all of the fans love the players so I'm sure my number of followers will definitely go up."

While his numbers have gone up on Twitter after his move from France, Haïdara's squad number has also changed since swapping Nancy for Newcastle. 

"In fact I wanted to take 17, which was my number in France, but it wasn't available unfortunately," he told nufc.co.uk.

"So the next number I decided on was 19, which I was told was Demba Ba's number - which isn't a bad thing to aspire to."

As well as Ba, who recently left St. James' Park for Chelsea, Haïdara will also look to emulate the legendary Michael Platini who, like him, started his career at Nancy before going on to win three Ballon d'Or awards.

"I would love to have a career as a footballer as someone as good as Platini," he admitted.

"Obviously I don't play in the same position but he's someone who had a fantastic career, was a great player, and I'm sure there are many players who would love to be able to follow in his footsteps."

Massadio Haïdara's first home game for Newcastle could be against Chelsea on Saturday, 2nd February. Tickets are still available but selling fast, and to secure your seat, click here