Hatem Ben Arfa has been named by the Journal this morning as one the four French players that Newcastle want to offload during the summer along with Sylvain Marveaux, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Gabriel Obertan. The 27-year-old fell out of favour with Alan Pardew towards the end of last season and we're hardly surprised to learn that his name has been circulated to potential suitors in his native France, although it's understood there has been no interest in Ben Arfa to date. Fans are divided on whether we should be actively trying to flog Ben Arfa with some considering the France international a luxury the Club can no longer afford while others feel he is the most gifted attacker we've had at St James' Park since Peter Beardsley. Likewise, Marveaux also found himself on the fringes of the first-team throughout the campaign, making just 11 appearances, and the Club are said to be optimistic they can recoup a fee of £3 million on a player we signed on a free transfer from Rennes in 2011. It's the proposed sale of Yanga-Mbiwa that we feel will provoke the most consternation from Toon supporters with Pardew harbouring concerns over his aerial ability despite the 24-year-old performing superbly at centre-back, notably during the victories over Chelsea and Tottenham. Pardew has supposedly been informed the funds he generates from selling the quartet will be his to spend on new players with the Magpies boss eager to add up to half a dozen new faces before the Premier League season kicks off in August. We can't see Marveaux going for £3m given his injury problems in the past while the Club will struggle to recover the £3.5m they paid to sign Obertan from Manchester United. Ben Arfa's value, meanwhile, will have plummeted significantly. That leaves Yanga-Mbiwa as the only saleable asset that we could possibly turn a profit on with the defender still highly regarded in France from his time as Montpellier captain.
