Newcastle United are trying to offload French flop Gabriel Obertan to Championship side Nottingham Forest in a loan deal according to the Mirror.
Much like we expected when Obertan was signed from Manchester United two years ago, the Frenchman has failed to make a significant impact on Tyneside.
Costing £3 million, Obertan has made one shy of 50 appearances for Newcastle and scored just once in the Premier League, when he finished off a breakaway against Blackburn Rovers in the 2011/12 season.
Now 24 years old, even though his haircut may say otherwise, Obertan doesn’t even seem to be being considered by manager Alan Pardew this season, as players like Sammy Ameobi have jumped above him in the pecking order.
A move seems likely and Forest see Obertan as the man to help bolster their bid to make it into the Premier League.
The one sticking point appears to be his £35,000-a-week wages and Nottingham Forest would be looking for Newcastle to contribute to a significant part of that in any potential deal.
I don’t think any Newcastle fan would be sad to see Gabriel Obertan leave St James’ Park, but he could do a very decent job for a top club in the Championship and it will be intriguing to see whether the Frenchman is interested in dropping down to the second tier of English football.
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