Newcastle United and arch-rivals Sunderland both sent representatives to the Ligue 1 game between OGC Nice and Lyon at the Allianz Riviera on Friday night, according to RMC Sport.
It’s not yet clear who the Magpies and their Wearside adversaries were running the rule over but, after a glance at the team sheets, it’s clear to see that there was a plethora of talent on display for scouts to scrutinise.
Lyon talisman Alexandre Lacazette, who was widely linked with a big money move to St James’ Park in the summer of 2014, was amongst the stars on show as Nice ran out convincing 3-0 winners.
Newcastle’s numerous dalliances in the Ligue 1 market have rendered extremely mixed results over the past few years. For runaway success stories like Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa there have been almighty flops such as Yanga Mbiwa and Remy Cabella.
Recent big-money acquisition Florian Thauvin has failed to make an impact since moving from Marseille this summer and, with the Magpies embroiled in a fierce scrap at the foot of the table, the club cannot afford to waste their transfer budget on unproven foreign talents in January.
