Wednesday, 28 August 2013

Yohan Cabaye only has "50-50 chance" of moving to Arsenal, says Newcastle ... - Telegraph.co.uk

Pardew has not criticised the player too strongly in public, aware of the fact he will have to work with him if he stays, but privately Newcastle have been incensed by Cabaye's refusal to play. They believe he has been badly advised by his agent.

A bid of £18million might be enough to break the deadlock, but Newcastle are adamant that they will sell only if Arsenal get somewhere near their £20million valuation. That means the deal hangs in the balance with five days until the transfer deadline.

Asked how he was feeling as the transfer window reached its climax, Pardew said: "I think it's fairly evident, even before the Cabaye situation, that we need to bring at least one or two players in and that hasn't changed.

"There are a few things that can happen. If you look at the positive side of things, we need to win on Saturday [against Fulham], we need to progress in the cup competition [against More­cambe] and we need to bring in two players.

"Now if Cabaye goes, and that's 50-50 in my opinion, we need to replace him. That would be very unsettling for me and our fans. The bottom line with a world-class player is that it would have to be world-class money for us to let him go."

Newcastle have been braced all summer for a bid for Cabaye to come from Paris St-Germain but no offer has been made.

Wenger yesterday also stressed that he would reject interest from Schalke in Lukas Podolski. "He plays with a lot of spirit and can score goals, and everybody in the squad loves him," the Arsenal manager said. "He is certainly a player I want to keep."

Newcastle, meanwhile, are set to make a fresh attempt to sign Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis after pulling out of talks last month because of a last-minute price hike.

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