With the Toon Army still reeling from the loss of another key figure in light of Kevin Nolan’s departure for West Ham, Alan Pardew has moved quickly to pacify the doubters. Saturday saw Newcastle announce their third signing in the past few days, with the free-transfer capture of Sylvain Marveaux from Rennes on a five-year deal beginning on July 1.
Hot on the heels of Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye, Marveaux’s arrival shows Pardew means business this transfer window and, with the futures of Joey Barton and Jose Enrique uncertain, the squad is rapidly moulding into more of the manager’s own making, following his mid-season arrival on Tyneside last term. Pardew spoke after the deal was announced:
“It’s a great coup to have signed Sylvain, who has received interest from a number of other clubs. He may not be well known to many of our fans but he is a real talent and a player we have been keeping an eye on for some time. It’s been a good couple of days for us on the transfer front.”
The Statistics
The 25-year-old has spent his entire professional career at Rennes. Making his debut in the 2006/07 season, Marveaux struggled to nail down a first-team place and initially flitted in and out the side without much impact. The 2009/10 season, however, saw Marveaux given regular starts under new boss Frédéric Antonetti and with 35 games under his belt, showed his capabilities, bagging 10 goals and 5 assists.
That season brought the left winger to the attention of many clubs and with his contract running out this summer, plenty of interest was shown. Liverpool were believed to head the queue of Marveaux’s many suitors but despite reports of a failed medical at Anfield last week, the player put it down to nothing more than “a contractual disagreement”.
Nevertheless, his career has been somewhat plagued by injury; a hamstring problem meant he made 5 appearances in 2008/09 and a groin injury in October last year saw him play just 10 games. With that in mind, will he live up to the more rigorous demands of the Premier League?
In total, he played 102 games for Rennes over five seasons, scoring 16 and assisting 16 goals. He’s also represented France at Under 21 level, with 4 goals in 11 appearances.
The Prospects
Newcastle are very much a club in transition; their top scorers last season were Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan and with both now gone, it’ll be down to the new boys to gel if the club are to better last season’s twelfth-placed finish. If Barton goes this summer they’ll also lose their chief creator, though Hatim Ben Arfa will return from his broken leg to top up the flair levels.
Pardew predominantly played 4-4-2 last season but with more of his own purchases at his disposal, will Newcastle see a change in formation? Marveaux is best utilised on the left, either as a conventional winger or attacking midfielder, which suggest he will be vying with Jonas Gutierrez for a starting berth, though there have been suggestions the Argentine may also be ready to leave this summer. Gutierrez made 34 starts last term and, if he stays, may alternate with Marveaux on the flank, limiting the new boy’s game time.
Marveaux should come in around the 5.5 to 6.0 mark and whilst the likes of Barton and Nolan showed the Fantasy potential of Newcastle’s midfield with 131 and 140 points respectively last season, there’s too much uncertainty surrounding his likely appearances right now to realistically rate his chances. The next two months should shed some light on the matter, as Pardew continues his summer of squad restructuring ahead of the club’s opening game of the season at home to Arsenal.
