Source: Northern_Echo
Magpies deal on hold as France call up Ben Arfa
NEWCASTLE must hold their nerve if they hope to conclude a deal to bring Marseille winger Hatem Ben Arfa to St James' Park.[LNB] The Magpies were confident that they had agreed an initial season's loan move for the player who is set to make a return to the France squad against Norway in Oslo this evening after two years in the international wilderness.[LNB] Ben Arfa had been scheduled to fly to England later this week to put the finishing touches on his move that will cost about 800,000 Euros with a view to a £5m permanent transfer, but reports in France suggested the deal was facing a last-minute hitch.[LNB] Chris Hughton is determined to add depth to his squad with James Perch the only one of his summer signings who is available for Monday's Premier League curtain-raiser at Manchester United.[LNB] Marseille were planning to fund their bid for Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano by selling Ben Arfa's teammate Mamadou Niang with club president Jean-Claude Dassier admitting that left him reluctant to leave the club's attacking options depleted, confirming that it was not realistic to sell Ben Arfa and Diang.[LNB] However, Marseille manager Didier Deschamps is believed to have resigned himself to losing the pacy Ben Arfa and will sanction his move to Newcastle despite late interest from Werder Bremen.[LNB] The 23-year old is eager to complete the move to England, but his immediate aim is to impress recently-appointed France manager Laurent Blanc.[LNB] The former Manchester United defender dropped all 23 of the players who made up Les Blues' World Cup party that endured a dismal campaign, plagued by in-fighting.[LNB] The move has offered Ben Arfa a chance to stake a claim for regular international berth.[LNB] The Newcastle target said: Laurent Blanc knows my qualities. I am very happy to find the national team. I'm aware of one thing: coming and going is not very interesting.[LNB] What's important is building something solid.[LNB] I wanted to participate in the World Cup.[LNB] But I wonder what would have happened if I had been in South Africa. Once there was a story (about trouble in the camp) my name would have been mentioned. I would be labelled a troublemaker.[LNB] I'm sure I would have been ranked among the leaders, even if I had nothing to do with all these stories.'' Hughton handed a trial to 17-year-old left-back Billy Knott in a behind-closeddoors friendly against St Mirren yesterday.[LNB] The England youth international was released by Chelsea last season.[LNB] Meanwhile, winger Jonas Gutierrez, is convinced Newcastle will comfortably hold their own in the Premier League this season.[LNB] We start with two hard games against Manchester United and Aston Villa,'' added Gutierrez, in Ireland on international duty with Argentina.[LNB] It's going to be a very hard, long league, but we are aiming to be in the middle of the table.[LNB] You have a few teams who are very good, the big four, then Spurs, Aston Villa and Manchester City.[LNB] But we know we have qualities and we are going to fight for the top places.''[LNB]
