From the Eredivisie’s top marksman to an England international goalkeeper, spotting talent doesn’t seem to be The Magpies’ strong point.
Not even Mike Ashley can be blamed for this. Alan Pardew? Maybe.
Rafael Benitez has constructed a squad capable of soaring back to the top flight at the first time of asking but would they have even dropped down a division with these former stars to pick from?
Hatem Ben Arfa
Unfortunately for Hatem Ben Arfa, and his adoring Tyneside public, those Goal of the Season contenders were often interspersed with periods of complete anonymity. Nonetheless, the most enigmatic of Frenchmen was still the most talented member of Newcastle’s squad, blessed with awe-striking natural ability.
However, it was only so long before he was, to use a popular expression, ‘Pardewed’. Farmed out to Hull City on loan before rocking up at Nice on a free, Ben Arfa sparkled on the French Riviera, a sequence of truly sublime performances, and a few picturebook goals, earning him the step up to PSG.
Luuk De Jong
Thanks to the woeful attempts of Matija Kezman and Afonso Alves, any attempt to praise a strikers’ scoring record in the Eredivisie will never be taken seriously on English shores. Even Luuk De Jong’s incredible tally of 46 in 65, spearheading successive league titles for PSV, fails to paint this defence-deriding league in a positive light, especially when compared with his 12 goalless appearances on loan at St James’.
Yet, De Jong was criminally misused by Alan Pardew while his two international strikes in 2016, against France and the Republic of Ireland no less, prove he’s rather more than a flat track bully.
Dan Gosling
Unceremoniously released by The Magpies in 2014, Gosling took to establishing himself as a first choice Premier League midfielder while his former club succumbed to relegation.
The former Everton midfielder remains a calming influence and a steady hand in a risk-taking Bournemouth midfield, while clocking up the most miles ever covered during a Premier League match (a lung-busting 8.6 if youre wondering) in a win against Sunderland in 2015.
Fraser Forster
“They sold Fraser too early,” dearly departed shot-stopper Pavel Srnicek told the Shields Gazette in 2014. “They should have kept him a while longer, because now he looks like being the best English goalkeeper in the future.”
Flogged to Celtic for just £2 million, per the Daily Mail, after failing to make a single first-team appearance for his local club, the six-time international is without doubt one of the most reliable goalkeepers in the Premier League and the major reason why Southampton’s defensive record remains consistently impressive.
Giuseppe Rossi
Concerned about Rossi’s lack of first-team opportunities at St James’ Park, Sir Alex Ferguson cancelled his Newcastle loan spell midway through the 2006/07 season. After all, a grand total of five starts, three in the Premier League, was hardly what was required if the Italian Under-21 international was going to realise his potential.
In the end, it took a prolific spell with Villarreal to show Newcastle exactly what they had missed, with only a relentless series of injuries presenting him taking pride and place among the goalscoring elite.
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