Source: FOOTYMAD
Only Cabaye Expected To Play From New Signings
Yohan Cabaye is expected to make his first appearance in a Newcastle United shirt when Alan Pardew's side visit The Northern Echo Arena for this evening's friendly with Darlington. Yohan Cabaye, a £4.5m signing from French champions Lille, will get his first taste of English football as the Magpies kick off their pre-season programme. Long-term injury victims Hatem Ben Arfa and Dan Gosling will make an eagerly-awaited return to action, along with Leon Best and Mike Williamson, who also missed the latter stages of last season. Joey Barton will wear the captain’s armband in the absence of the rested Fabricio Coloccini, but neither Demba Ba nor Sylvain Marveaux are expected to feature ahead of next week’s tour of the United States. Pardew is expected to rotate his squad extensively, with few players likely to play for more than an hour. Alan Pardew: “There are some players who have not seen a lot of football who need to play. “We’re still at an early stage of pre-season, but it’ll be good to be involved in a game.”
