Newcastle United have rejected a $23m (£14m) offer fro Paris Saint-Germain for midfielder Yohan Cabaye. It is believed that the club value the Frenchman at more than $33m (£20m).
Cabaye joined Newcastle from Lille in summer 2011 for just $7.1m (£4.3m). Since then, he’s made 79 league appearances, scoring 17 goals. Despite refusing to play earlier in the season after the Magpies turned down a $16.5m (£10m) offer from Arsenal, the midfielder has been a driving force in the side this season, starting seventeen league matches and scoring seven goals.
It’s little wonder PSG want to bring Cabaye back to France - and it’s little wonder that Newcastle aren’t about to let one of the richest clubs in the world steal him away for anything less than they think he’s worth.
With PSG temporarily off the table, attention now turns to Manchester United, who are believed to be considering an offer for Cabaye. David Moyes is using the January transfer window to strengthen United’s midfield, its weakest point over the past couple seasons. The club made its intentions quite clear when signing Juan Mata from Chelsea, but still believes the midfield could use reinforcing.
While the PSG offer was way too low by Newcastle’s standards, United understand the rules of the game. They just paid $61m (£37m) for Mata, and are well aware that Premier League purchases made in January are going to cost a pretty penny. However, Manchester United are also well aware of their current standing in the league, and know that anything less than fourth from last year’s title winners would most likely be considered a failure by fans.
Cabaye is a major part of the reason that Newcastle are currently eighth in the table. But if Manchester United come offering crazy amounts of money for the midfielder, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to resist selling, particularly when rumors persist that they’ve already got another Frenchman lined up to take his place.