10 Players Who Could Be Axed For Newcastle's Summer Recruits

2. Emmanuel Riviere

Signed last summer for £6 million, the ex-Monaco man has simply been a flop. With a lack of pace and physicality and a heart the size of a pea at times, he ended the season with a meagre return of just one Premier League goal. Despite receiving more of a run in the team under John Carver towards the back end of the 2014-15 season, Riviere has so far shown precious little to indicate that he warrants a starting spot. With even bargain-buy Perez outperforming him last year despite arriving for a quarter of the cost, Riviere's chances of succeeding in a black-and-white shirt appear slimmer by the day. A knee injury that will require surgery has ended his stint on the club's American tour and the arrival of Aleksandar Mitrovic will almost certainly result in his opportunities for playing time being reduced even further. The French forward desperately needs to rediscover the goalscoring touch that saw him net 10 times in Ligue 1 in 2013-14 if he is to have even the slightest hope of not winding up as another Stephane Guivarc'h, with the cup competitions and substitute appearances likely to represent his best chance of making an impact when he returns.