Newcastle United’s French revolution has failed and it is soon to be extinct with Yoan Gouffran, Gabriel Obertan and Sylvain Marveaux set to depart this transfer window.
Yoan Gouffran has been heavily linked with an exit from St James’ Park for some time, having fallen out of favour under Steve McClaren. Hull City, Bournemouth and Lille are among the clubs fighting for his signature.
L’Équipe report that Obertan has attracted attention from Nantes and could be offloaded this January, while The Chronicle state that Ligue 1 strugglers Guingamp are leading the chase for Marveaux and hope to re-sign him this month.
Should the fringe trio depart this window, the only Frenchmen remaining on Tyneside will be Emmanuel Riviere, Florian Thauvin and Moussa Sissoko. A remarkable statement when you consider Newcastle could have fielded an entire French outfield line-up a few seasons back.
Newcastle’s transfer policy was simple. Sign young rising stars cheaply and sell them on for profit, but just how many of the French Mags actually made Mike Ashley money?
Since the club’s ‘French day’ in 2013, seven Frenchman have departed and only three have commanded a fee greater than they were bought for – Yohan Cabaye to PSG for £20million [£16million profit], Mathieu Debuchy to Arsenal for £12million [£5million profit] and Olivier Kemen to Lyon for an undisclosed fee. Hatem Ben Arfa, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Romain Amalfitano and Remy Cabella were all sold/released for a loss.
The club are expected to make further losses on the French trio set to depart from St James’ Park this January, much to Mike Ashley’s frustration. No wonder Graham Carr stopped shopping in Ligue 1’s bargain basement and begun pursuing targets from across Europe – such as Chancel Mbemba and Aleksandar Mitrovic.