The Ben Arfa saga rolls on with no end in end in sight, and still there are no clues as to where the player is likely to end up.
Marseille have slapped a £6 million price-tag on the player, which Hoffenheim look like they are willing to meet, but the player would apparently prefer to move to Newcastle.
The problem with that is our apparent reluctance to meet the asking price, which makes me wonder what the game is at St James’ Park regarding transfers. Apparently we have had a loan-to-buy bid and a £4 million transfer fee rejected, which is fine, playing hardball in negotiations and that. But should Ben Arfa be a player that we should just stump up the asking price for? (more…)
At this rate, the rumour linking Hatem Ben Arfa will soon become as tedius as the rumour that had Kris Boyd linked with us for such a long time.
Nothing ever came of that rumour, probably because there was nothing in it to start with, but at least there does seem to be something behind the Ben Arfa rumour.
As it stands Newcastle have a cash bid, believed to be in the region of £4 million, rejected. They have also offered a loan-to-buy option to Marseille, where we would take the player now for a smaller fee with the option of signing the 23-year old on a permanent deal at the end of the season, which would suit Newcastle United down to the ground, but not Marseille. So now we appear to be stuck. (more…)
Reports in the Italian press are suggesting that Newcastle have won the race to sign Marseille midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa.
The source is Italian publication Tutto Mercato, who claim that Ben Arfa has rejected bids from Hoffenheim, AC Milan and Parma and has chosen Newcastle as the place he would like to move to.
I’m not too sure of the legitimacy of the Italian press, or of the legitmacy of these reports, but they do seem to correlate with what has been reported on the French press over the past few days. The Ben Arfa saga most definately rolls on then, and it looks like it is the player himself who is trying to place Newcastle in the box seat to capture the signature of the 23-year old talented midfielder. (more…)
Newcastle have actually bid for Marseille’s Hatem Ben Arfa, and the player is keen on joining us according to reports in the French press.
The French publication La Mercato is reporting that Newcastle have had a bid turned down for the player who was once dubbed as the future of French football, but talks will continue in the hope of reaching a deal.
It sounds like the player wants to come to Newcastle despite interest from Italian clubs AC Milan, Genoa and Parma and German outfit Hoffenheim. Deals including those four clubs are favoured by Marseille, but it is the player who is holding things up by waiting for Newcastle to make another move as he would prefer to come to Tyneside instead. (more…)
Newcastle manager Chris Hughton is hopeful of clinching the loan signing of Tom Cleverley this week, and he hasn’t given up hope of signing Hatem Ben Arfa either, according to The Daily Mail.
The paper suggests that Cleverley could be next through the door at St James’ Park, and that the deal will be decided one way or the other by the end of the week.
Cleverley has impressed on Manchester United’s tour of the USA and whilst loan signings aren’t necessarily my cup of tea, sometimes needs must. If we do get Cleverley then we will end up with a player who has pace, can play right the way across midfield, including the wide positions that looked so unimpressive against PSV, and score goals like this to boot. (more…)