Newcastle United are considering a reunion with Paris Saint-Germain winger Hatem Ben Arfa, according to reports.
Rafael Benitez has made no secret of the fact that Newcastle United need new players. After a very impressive season in the Championships that saw Newcastle return to the Premier League, Benitez demanded more signings of Premier League standard to establish the club in England’s premier competition. However, with Newcastle unable to sell their existing crop of players, they are dealing with a stagnant squad and that has frustrated Benitez.
Known as the wing wizard, Ben Arfa previously signed for Newcastle in the summer of 2010 and went on play for four years for the club. He rose to prominence under the Alan Pardew and would have gone to play for several more years until a fallout between the player and the manager saw him leave Tyneside.
Ben Arfa spent a season on loan at Hull before he became a free agent. He was snapped up by OGC Nice where the winger had a very productive spell scoring 18 goals in 37 games. His impressive form earned him a move to the swashbuckling Paris Saint Germain team who paid £9m for his services.
However, since his move to Paris in 2016, Ben Arfa has not been given a starting role owing to the competition for places in the side and with the arrival of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe this season it looks unlikely that the 30-year old will get to play too many games.
Ben Arfa’s current contract expires at the end of the current season and Benitez is pondering over bringing him back to Newcastle. It will be a challenge for Rafa Benitez on two fronts. Firstly he would have to convince the player, who described his time at Newcastle as “hell” and is unlikely to forget the treatment he was given three years ago.
Secondly, it would be a tenacious task to convince Newcastle’s purse-stringent owners, who will definitely not allow Benitez to buy a spree of players as it does not make much sense to spend a chunk of money on a 30-year old who will definitely need some confidence boosting if he does return to Tyneside.
The move might be good for Benitez’s side though, who are slowly finding their feet in the big league and will want to cash in on the momentum by bringing in a winger who can devastate opponents with his dribbling and shooting skills on his day. Do you think Rafa should bring Ben Arfa back?
