The 26-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to St James' Park after Newcastle sold Demba Ba to Chelsea earlier in January.

Remy's Marseille team-mate Joey Barton wished the France international good luck, and reports in France say he will not feature in Sunday's Ligue 1 match against Sochaux.

Instead, it is suggested he will travel to Newcastle to negotiate personal terms with the English Premier League club.

"We have an agreement in principle with Newcastle, it is true," Marseille president Vincent Labrune told RMC Sport.

"We have therefore given Loic permission to chat with them. For the rest, we must wait patiently."

Marseille sporting director Jose Anigo said Remy could leave the south coast club to move to the English top flight.