Newcastle made a number of signings who were arguably yet to peak back in the summers of 2014 and 2015 – Remy Cabella being one.
The Frenchman rocked up at Newcastle in a £12m deal from Montpellier just 12 months before Ivan Toney, Florian Thauvin, Aleksandr Mitrovic and Georginio Wijnaldum also arrived on Tyneside.
All of them went on to do impressive things, but Remy Cabella in particular is finding a new lease of life at the age of 33.
What’s the story?
Well, Newcastle eventually sold Cabella to Marseille in 2016 after he scored just one goal in 34 appearances for the Magpies.
Now – however – the French maestro is even outdoing Kevin De Bruyne when it comes to creativity.
Cabella has created more chances than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues so far this season, with 2.63 opportunities made for his teammates at Lille per 90 minutes – according to Opta.
In comparison with De Bruyne – widely regarded as the best midfielder in Europe – the Belgian averages 2.56 every 90 minutes, sitting fifth on the list.
Newcastle signed Cabella too early
As aforesaid, Newcastle were on the right track with their signings back in 2014 and 2015, although the Magpies invested in potential at that time rather than pure quality.
The likes of Toney, Mitrovic, Thauvin and obviously Cabella are all now blossoming across Europe.
Toney has scored 20 Premier League goals this season, while Mitrovic has 12 in England’s top-flight, a respectable tally considering he was banned for eight games.
In regards to Thauvin, he ended up winning the World Cup with France after some outstanding seasons at Marseille following his exit from Newcastle.
Sadly, relegation under Rafa Benitez – which was really the fault of Steve McClaren – affected their chances of success at Newcastle. Had the Magpies never dropped into the Championship, who knows what could have happened.
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