RMC France Reports Potential Remy Deal: £8 Million

Citing a source "close to the club," the reliable French broadcast outlet RMC is reporting a potential deal that would send Marseille striker and French international Loic Remy to Newcastle for €10 million (£8 million). (UPDATE: It's unclear from the story whether the source is from Newcastle or Marseille, which would make a difference in indicating how close the bid is to sealing the deal.)

"This is less than half the amount OM management was requiring for a transfer to Tottenham last summer," the RMC report says. That transfer fell through in part due to concerns about a heart condition turned up in Tottenham's medical, a condition that had been detected by Marseille in 2010. Marseille doctors eventually cleared Remy to play, and a similar condition hasn't held back other players such as Nwakwo Kanu and Mohamed Diame, though Diame's defect scotched a potential move to Manchester United last summer, and at Wigan the club kept a defibrilator on its sideline as a precaution. Remy has never suffered symptoms from the problem.

RMC also reports QPR was in the running for Remy, but the striker "does not favor that destination, resulting, according to our information, in QPR's retreat."

Aside from the heart condition Remy has been hampered much of the season by a thigh injury, not thought to be serious, but nagging enough for OM to prefer in-form André-Pierre "Big Mac" Gignac in its lone-striker formation. As was the case with the recently departed star whose transfer is helping fund this transaction, without the physical questions it's unlikely a player of Remy's pedigree would be available to Newcastle, much less at a bargain price. And Remy's experience on the flank should make for a more productive partnership with Papiss Cissé. It feels like a reasonable risk, and given recent events on and off the pitch, a necessary one.

Comments

[Jaeger]

for some reason i dont have that good of a feeling with this prospect... too many 'little things' (heart problem, 'minor' nagging injury) that seem to be excuses.

i think we need a more pronounced leader brought in....not that colo isn't a good captain but he's no kevin nolan in my mind.

[bunty@davhouse.co.uk]

What part of football Morons at the Mewcadtle board does not understand ? It is rubbish defence leaking goals that is going to take us down. We can score ten goals and loose because we let in twelve.

[Ken]

Great grammar from the last idiot

[Jonathan Wilk]

I think I will order my Ba Chelsea kit!