Relegated to the Championship after a disappointing season under Steve McClaren (Rafa Benitez can’t really be blamed), Newcastle are now having to fight to keep their most talented players.
Georginio Wijnaldum is linked with AS Roma, Moussa Sissoko has made it clear he wants out, and now Florian Thauvin is seemingly trying to push for a permanent move back to Marseille.
Sold to the then Premier League club last summer for a fee of around £13m, the French winger flopped quite considerably in the north of England, and was subsequently loaned back to Marseille for the remainder of the season.
Struggling at first, the winger overcame his difficulties and steadily started to have more of an impact on his side’s matches, leading to the club considering bringing him back.
La Provence in France have an article on the subject on Tuesday, and the local newspaper say the decision is entirely up to the player, according to indiscretions from his entourage.
In order to return to his former club on a permanent basis, it’s made clear the winger would have to sacrifice a chunk of the wages he is currently earning at Newcastle as Marseille cannot compete with the English money in that department.
However, La Provence report the player is prepared to do so, as the player has apparently given the green light to Marseille regarding his wish to ‘keep the adventure going’.
If that’s the case, and the local French newspaper is rarely wrong when it comes to Marseille, it’s now down to the two clubs to sort out a fee.
We’re going to guess Newcastle will want most of their initial investment back.
