Newcastle United have entered the race for French international Yohan Cabaye, according to the Mirror.
The 29-year-old departed St James’ Park just eighteen months ago in a £20million move to Paris Saint Germain, but Yohan is now ready to quit the Ligue 1 champions in search of first-team football.
Cabaye – who played a total of 960 minutes last season – has been told by Didier Deschamps that he must be playing regularly in order to book his place at the European Championships next summer.
When asked whether he expected to be at PSG next season, Cabaye said: “Not really. I know that if I stay, whatever I’ll do, nothing will change.”
“If there is an opportunity to go back to England, I hope everyone will be smart enough to do things well. But there could be other destinations,” he said.
PSG have slapped a £10million price-tag on Cabaye, but the Magpies face competition for the Frenchman’s signature with Tottenham, West Ham and Crystal Palace – managed by his former Newcastle boss Alan Pardew – all interested. Although the Eagles are currently the front runners, Cabaye’s preference is uncertain. One thing’s for sure, a return to Newcastle is far from guaranteed.
Upon his departure from Newcastle, Cabaye stated that his decision was based on a lack of ambition from the club and insisted had Newcastle’s hierarchy shared his levels of ambition he would not have left.
Even Newcastle’s famous French contingent that has lured several players looking to join their fellow compatriots to the club in the past is fading away. Should Yoan Gouffran and Sylvain Marveaux depart the club this summer, like many news outlets are suggesting, only four French players will remain on Tyneside – a significant decline from their 11 just two seasons ago.
