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Something that can only be described as a gamble by Alan Pardew

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This week Newcastle completed their most recent signing, and surprise, surprise it was yet another Frenchman. This time Alan Pardew swooped for former Manchester United winger Gabriel Obertan; initially this was something of a shock but when you look into it more closely the transfer makes perfect sense. Still just 22, Obertan could well have a bright future in the Premier League ahead of him, but can his signature be described as anything other than a gamble?

So, what do we know about Obertan other than the fact that he’s follically challenged? Standing at 6ft 1in, Obertan started his senior career at Bordeaux before moving to Old Trafford in 2009. That was the year that he was named as France’s best player at the Toulon Tournament; a prestigious competition renowned in Europe for starring a whole host of top quality young players.

That’s about as good as it gets for Obertan as following his £3 million move, he didn’t exactly hit the ground running at Man United. In fact it was something more akin to a trudge, as Obertan has played just 14 games over the course of two Premier League seasons, with only 4 of those being starts. I seem to remember that one of those was against Crawley in the FA Cup, where an argument could have been put forward for him being the worst player on the pitch! He failed to score or provide an assist for the Red Devils, managing 4 shots on target and 7 missing the goal; hmm.

There isn’t much to take from recent interviews either. Both parties have come out will all the usual rhetoric, with Obertan stating that: “Now I want to show Newcastle fans exactly what I can do. I have a point to prove and I just want to give 100 per cent.” I wonder how many players have said that over the years? Alan Pardew had this to say: “He has great pace and excellent technique and he has improved his power in the last 12 months and is ready now to make a real impact in the Premier League.” If he was ready to make an impact, surely Sir Alex Ferguson would have kept him?

That’s the one positive to take from this transfer; Man United, the Premier League champions, saw something in Gabriel Obertan two years ago. While the Frenchman hasn’t shown what that was yet, perhaps Pardew is the man to get it out of him? It’s most certainly a gamble, but you never know, it might just pay off. Either way, he can’t be any worse than the departing Wayne Routledge, can he?

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6 comments

  • thomas foreman says:

    if you think about it man utd seen something in him to bring the lad to old trafford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    if he gets a good run in the team im hoping he could be another clever signing!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Tom Jones says:

    yeah, I did mention that, but aren’t holding out a lot of hope. after all, fergie did sign bebe!

  • Matt says:

    With the Qatari’s buying into the French league it is going to become more popular. Very soon they are going to be looking into bringing their French players back to play in France, so if a couple of the ones we are gambling on turn out good we will make a healthy profit from them in a couple of years.

  • scott says:

    matt, you mean Mike Ashley will make a healthy profit..

  • Wisdom says:

    Good article – kuqi, ireland, campbell, gosling… all punts which have cost us places in the squad..

    who cares about turning a profit if it’s not pumped back in – even fractionally.

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