Newcastle United could benefit from a fallout between Andre-Pierre Gignac and his current club Marseille.
French media source Le 10 Sport has reported a very public bust up between the Marseille striker Andre-Pierre Gignac and the club’s manager Elie Baup.
The row seems to lie at the heart of Marseille’s recent form which has seen them suffer back-to-back defeats, in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund and most recently in Ligue One against PSG.
Needless to say the striker’s frustration is about how he’s currently being used by the Marseille boss, benched for the huge clash against PSG and only introduced to the game when Marseille fell behind.
“When comes into play against PSG, Andre-Pierre Gignac would have been in a disgruntled mood towards Elie Baup having spent more than an hour on the bench before stepping onto the pitch Velodrome,” says the Le 10 Sport report.
Newcastle were strongly linked with Gignac at the back end of last June, throughout July with rumours only cooling after the player himself confirmed he wouldn’t be moving away from the French club.
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Gignac brushed off the connection with Newcastle, insisting that he was fully focused on the Marseille cause.
The reported bust up between Baup and Gignac took place on Sunday night and is likely to have driven a wedge between the pair, which could impact on how the striker is used heading towards the winter.
Gignac has started matches in the league and Champions League this season but it’s the nature of him being benched for the big match against PSG which seems to be the problem.
The manager has defended himself as any top flight boss would do, insisting that no one protects Marseille more than he does.
“It’s easy to fall on me.I do not say a word about anyone in public.What I have to say I always do. If there is someone who protects the club, it’s me,” said Baup.
Newcastle United is a club with a core of very talented and versatile strikers. Loic Remy, Yoann Gouffran, Papiss Cisse and others are all fighting for first team places fiercely.
See also: Players must do more – Newcastle ace backs under-fire manager
Gignac is a different type of striker to those players, someone who carries a real physical presence around the field and if he feels the situation at Marseille starts to become untenable then he may not be so willing to dismiss a Premier League move again.
However, the chance for Alan Pardew to go after a striker with plenty of top flight, European and international experience is something he may find very difficult to turn down.
Newcastle fans, would you like to see Gignac at the club? Do you need him?
image: © mikebrown59
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