Hatem Ben Arfa announced on his Instagram that he’ll be leaving Paris Saint Germain at the end of the season after 2 wretched seasons. Unai Emery has completely frozen out the French international this season as he’s made no appearances this season and it is not surprising that Ben Arfa will be leaving.
One of the most brilliant talents of the past decade, a lot was expected from him but inconsistencies, form and fitness wise stopped him from becoming a truly great player. Now, at 31, he could make a final attempt to salvage something from his dwindling career.
Here we take a look at 3 Premier League clubs that could sign him.
Newcastle United
Newcastle, of course. After a very important win over Huddersfield, the Magpies are 7 points above the drop zone. Not safe by any means, but with 7 games to go, Benitez would be confident of his side’s chances of surviving this season. And a move for Ben Arfa wouldn’t be the worst transfer by any means. St. James’ Park is where he made his name in the first place, displaying his spellbinding dribbling ability and other facets of his talent. The Toons have struggled for creativity this season and adding Ben Arfa would help solve it to an extent, considering they do not possess a quality attacking midfielder through the center.
Leicester City
Perhaps the most logical move for him right now, reuniting with Claude Puel would be a dream for Arfa. After all, it was under Puel at Nice, that Ben Arfa played the most consistent football of his career as he scored an impressive 17 goals in 33 league games in 2015-16. The performances so good, that he earned a move to PSG. Leicester have enjoyed a fairly decent season, with Saturday’s win over Brighton consolidating their strong grip on 8th place.
Mahrez has been the subject of intense speculation over the last two transfer windows and it seems to be a matter of when, not if, he’ll leave for a bigger and better club. Ben Arfa would not be an absolute replacement for him, but would go in some way to recover the creative loss due to Mahrez’s departure. Of course, this is hypothetical, and in the unlikely scenario of Mahrez staying, Ben Arfa’s addition would elevate Leicester especially if Puel can get the best out of the Frenchman, again.
West Ham United
The Hammers might have done just enough to survive the drop this season, and it’ll be imperative for them to sufficiently improve their squad in the coming summer window. The addition of Ben Arfa won’t be enough, of course, but they are seriously short of quality on the flanks, and Ben Arfa’s addition will certainly help in solving that problem to an extent. Already used to the rigours of the English league, he would slot right in and is adept on both wings and central areas. No doubt that his versatility would benefit Moyes’s team.
