Former Newcastle winger Florian Thauvin has said his move to the Magpies made him question his abilities as a footballer.
The Frenchman arrived from Marseille for approximately £15m in August 2015 but within six months he had returned to his former club on loan. After a successful return to the south of France, he signed a season long loan deal for the 2016/17 season which will be made permanent for £9.8m (€11m) in the summer.
Thauvin told French newspaper L’Equipe (translated by the Shields Gazette) that his experience on Tyneside meant he returned to France in the summer with a strong determination to improve his game, both physically and tactically:
“My visit to Newcastle was complicated, it made me think, question myself. When I came back on loan, I was doing good things, even if all was not right. This summer I did a big physical preparation with a trainer, I analyzed my matches, I work a lot in training, I talk a lot with the coach with whom I have built a relationship of trust. I did a lot of work on myself and tried to erase my defects, I still have work but it is for all these reasons that today it works well.”
The hard work on the training field has certainly paid off. This season he has scored 12 goals, and provided nine assists in 38 matches in all competitions. His performances even led to a call up last month by France manager Didier Deschamps to the national side, although he has yet to gain a senior cap for his country.
