It was only a matter of time before Hatem Ben Arfa was linked with a move to Leicester City, but we didn’t expect it to be less than 24 hours after Claude Puel’s appointment.
Still, RMC Sport have wasted no time in getting it done, and, on Thursday afternoon, spoke to someone close to both men about the possibility of signing the winger from Paris Saint-Germain in the near future.
The source said: “They’re very close. Claude never hid his disappointment at how Hatem was used at PSG and that he’d like to work with him again.”
Another friend stated ‘it would be a possibility that could interest Hatem’, although this remains pure speculation for the time being.
One of Puel’s key players at Nice, managing to rekindle the passion the forward appeared to have lost in England, Ben Arfa has struggled following his free transfer to the Ligue 1 runners-up, never gaining the trust of Unai Emery.
At 30, the former France international needs somewhere where he can play regularly in order to show the world he is still capable of being a valuable member of a team with his dribbling ability and flair.
Described as being a ‘long way off’ happening, a transfer isn’t excluded, however.
A source close to Puel said: “First, Claude needs to find his bearings, try to redress Leicester’s situation and only then will he think about transfers. But, he likes Hatem, that isn’t new”.
While RMC make it clear Ben Arfa isn’t particularly enthralled at the idea of returning to England, doing so under Claude Puel could change his mind.
We’ll have to wait and see, but expect a lot more of these in the coming months.
