MEHDI ABEID, the Newcastle United midfielder currently on-loan at St Johnstone, is a summer transfer target for Ross County.

The French-Algerian has been told he will be released at the end of this season and Derek Adams, the Ross County manager, believes the 20-year-old would be an ideal addition to his squad.

Adams said: "Mehdi is someone we are interested in, but whether we can get him is a different matter. We have made contact with Newcastle and we will see what happens.

"It will be well into the summer before anything happens."

Abei joined Newcastle two years ago after eight years in the RC Lens youth set-up.