Is the dream over for Newcastle United when it comes targeting the French transfer market; Andrew Musgrove speaks to Get French Football News's Nathan Staples about Newcastle United's like of French football.
Byline: Andrew Musgrove
When Newcastle United bolstered their squad back in January 2013 with an influx of French talent, it was made easier by the reputation they had built across the Channel since targeting players from Ligue One.
It started with Yohan Cabaye back in 2011 who put pen to paper after winning the league title with Lille.
Back then the approach was simple - buy top talent on the cheap and sell them on for a profit a few years later. That worked for Cabaye, who after three years on Tyneside moved to Paris Saint Germain for [pounds sterling]19million.
In reality, the approach of buy cheap and sell on was always going to be detrimental to the club, with supporters who wanted to kick on and end the decades without success. How could you build a team if you continued to sell your core? It was also always going to be a risk. With chief scout Graham Carr's focus on France, picking players largely without the manager's say so was always going to present problems.
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The success of Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy, simply strengthened the desire to stick with France and for a long time it seemed like no one wanted to join the party, but as we head into the summer transfer window in 2017 - that has all changed.
With Rafa Benitez in charge, the approach of buying cheaply and selling on has gone out the window. The Spaniard wants to build the foundations of a team which can do more than survive in the league, and his desire for constant improvement means that only the players he wants to leave will do so.
Furthermore, United are now not the only ones wise to the talent that lies in Ligue One.
And the failures of Remy Cabella and Florian Thauvin, plus United's relegation, have soured their reputation in France somewhat - no longer are they seen as a golden ticket.
Get French Football News talk show host Nathan Staples explains.
"Newcastle keep coming back to France because they keep producing talent. Looking at the current national side's set up, you can see how much strength in depth Les Bleus have and it should frighten everyone if I say that they have even more coming through the ranks.
"The only issue for them is that everyone else is cottoning on to that idea."
Where in the pastNewcastlewere often first to the emerging talent, able to get it at a knock-down price and for relatively cheap wages - now they face a fight on their hands.
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