Back in January, Marseille in Ligue 1 made something of an interesting appointment when they brought in Paul Aldridge as an advisor, as the former West Ham executive moved to the south of France to help the club’s president, Jacques-Henri Eyraud, sell their assets better, especially to the Premier League.
Even though nothing was actually made official, the general idea reported by the French media was that Marseille would use his extensive list of contacts in English football to try and get the best deals possible for some of their players.
And, as Le10 Sport point out on Thursday, the sale of Newcastle United to a new consortium now presents Aldridge with the perfect place to send some of the Ligue 1 side’s expendables.
While we can all agree Florian Thauvin will not be returning to St James’ Park, there are other names in the squad, like Morgan Sanson, who could be of use to the Magpies going forward.
The arrival of PCP Capital Partners in the North East will certainly see Aldridge’s eyes light up, especially since Newcastle have often been among the lists of reported suitors for many of Marseille’s players in the past.
First, however, the change of ownership needs to take place, and then we’ll truly see whether or not Eyraud’s decision to hire the Englishman was a wise one.
If Marseille go a whole summer without selling one player to the Premier League, there will be a lot of questions needing answers.
