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Long-time readers of the blog will surely be familiar with Romain Alessandrini. Thanks to beIN Sport's coverage of Ligue 1, the 25-year-old winger quickly became my favorite French player, a guy I've desperately tried to pitch to the club at every opportunity. Alessandrini burst onto the scene during the 2012-13 season, his first in the French top flight, then excelled the second half of last season after returning from a serious knee injury. That injury is probably the only reason why he's yet to play for Les Bleus, as he was called into the squad in early 2013 (and scheduled to room with Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa) before getting hurt.
Why am I bringing him up now? Because yesterday, he moved from Rennes to Marseille for the oh-so-affordable fee of €5 million. Even if you've never seen Alessandrini play (and YouTube is definitely your friend here), to see someone like him slip away at that kind of price should infuriate even the most jaded of fans. It demonstrates the total lack of effort the club is putting into an especially crucial summer transfer window.
Buried in this Mark Douglas report about Newcastle's potential moves is a note that new managing director Lee Charnley just came back from vacation. Following the club's line of thinking, Douglas points out that many key figures at top clubs are also on vacation, as are the agents of players in the World Cup.
But here's the catch: given the draconian budget rules that Mike Ashley has put into place, practically anyone who stars in Brazil will slide right out of Newcastle's price range. Even if Ashley weren't quite so tight-fisted, the post-World Cup period is the absolute worst time to buy World Cup players. However, it's a great opportunity to make under-the-radar signings - like Alessandrini.
The sad thing is, as we have talked about in the past, he was practically the prototype Newcastle signing, even under this penny-pinching regime. Obviously, being 25 and French checks two boxes straight away. The knee injury also meant that his transfer fee was far less than what his talent would indicate, which certainly should make Ashley salivate. And in terms of how he fits into the squad, he's a left-footed left winger who's fantastic at taking set pieces and isn't afraid of tracking back to defend. So he would have stayed out of Alan Pardew's doghouse, while also filling a desperate need.
But instead of making a shrewd signing, we're left to twist in the wind while Newcastle's bids get laughed out of every boardroom from Lorient to Lyon. At least Charnley should be well-rested enough to write an encouraging statement about how he'll do everything possible to add to the squad in January.