Bremen move for Magpies target Hatem Ben Arfa

Aug 18 2010 by Steve Brown, The Journal

NEWCASTLE United’s fading hopes of landing Hatem Ben Arfa appear to have suffered a fatal blow after Werder Bremen made a 8million bid for the Marseille star.

The French champions have promised the Bundesliga club an answer today on whether the £6.6million offer is acceptable, while Italian giants AC Milan have also entered the chase for the France winger.

The Magpies were understood to have agreed a deal with Marseille to take Ben Arfa on a season-long loan at a cost of 800,000 euros, with an option to sign the 23-year-old permanently for £5 million next summer – a sale which would have been triggered if he made 25 Premier League appearances.

Though Marseille president Jean-Claude Dassier then threatened to block the move, the midfielder reacted by declaring he would go on strike should he be made to stay at the Stadio Velodrome, before flying to the North East over the weekend.

However, talks with United – who have subsequently been linked with Real Mallorca front man Alhassane Keita – failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion, and Ben Arfa was summoned back to France.

Having sold strikers Mamadou Samassa to Valenciennes and Mamadou Niang to Fenerbahçe, Marseille have confirmed they are on the lookout for “two attackers of quality reputation”, and that has seen Milan enter the equation.

The Serie A side are keen to offload Dutch forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and with a straight transfer unlikely due to Marseille’s lack of funds, Milan have suggested the possibility of taking Ben Arfa as part of the deal.

Bremen, with funds available following the £20million sale of Mesut Özil to Real Madrid yesterday, have moved quickly as they look to fill the void left by the Germany star.

They have offered Ben Arfa, who cost Marseille 12million when he joined them from Lyon in 2008, a four-year deal worth 4.5million a year – around £70,000 a week.

Meanwhile, United’s new captain Kevin Nolan insists the club must regain its place among the Premier League big boys and qualify for the Europa League inside five years.

But the midfielder – who admitted Newcastle underperformed against Manchester

United on Monday night, but took heart from some aspects of the 3-0 defeat – has warned fans to be patient, and expect the occasional “tonking” along the way.

“We have to keep moving forward together and that will take time, but this club has to get back to where it belongs, amongst all these big clubs in the Premier League,” said Nolan.

“We are not talking Champions League maybe, but in the next five years we have to be back in contention, in the Europa League and working to get ourselves back where we belong for a club of this size and stature.

“We can’t get too carried away with what happened last year and we realise this is a whole new challenge.

“It is OK when you are winning every week as everything is hunky-dory.

“All the players walk into work with a smile on their faces, but now comes the time when we have to fight.

“We will get a few tonkings in this league because everyone does, even the best teams have their off days, but it is how you bounce back which counts.

“I don’t think we have been on a level with Man Utd for many, many years, so we have to bear that in mind.

“It was always going to be a tough day and we knew that before kick-off but I felt for half an hour we played well and had the best chance.

“If Andy Carroll had put that in the back of the net it would have been a different game.

“It wasn’t to be and we have got to take the good bits on to Sunday (against Aston Villa).

“We certainly won’t play a better team this year, so we are reasonably happy.

“There are 38 games this season and this was probably the toughest we will have.

“Although some players under-performed we have got plenty of time to put that right.

“The fans have to stay with us and be patient. Together as a united Newcastle we will achieve what we need to achieve this season.”