Newcastle Transfers: 10 More French Players Who Played For The Toon

Newcastle: Twinned with France. Or at least that's what some might say, given the current make-up of the Magpies' first team squad. However, French players on the Toon are not a new phenomenon, and here we look back at ten former Newcastle stars from across the channel to see how they stack up against the French Connection of today. The country which brought the world David Guetta, Les Misérables and the baguette was already the birthplace of seven Newcastle players going into the January transfer window, but by the close of trading on January 31st the club's incoming transfers had ramped that connection up a whole new level. Firstly, Euro 2012 right back Mathieu Debuchy finally joined from Lille, and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa added extra reinforcement to the Newcastle defence following a move from reigning French champions Montpellier. Tyneside then saw the addition of two attacking talents in the form of Yoan Gouffran and the thus far wildly successful Moussa Sissoko, the club outlaying under five million pounds combined in two of the deals of the season. On top of that, promising young left back Massadio Haïdara joined from Nancy, appearing recently in Europa League games against Metalist Kharkiv and Anzhi Makhachkala. By adding those names to an already rich core of French players, including stars such as Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa, Newcastle ended up with significantly more French players than any other Premier League side in recent memory (the most at any other club right now is the six at Arsenal). And, while some have been critical of Newcastle's imports, it is of no concern to Magpies fans, who've seen the new signings add an extra dimension to the side and assist an upturn in form in recent weeks, including entertaining wins over Southampton and Chelsea. However, while it might presently be the era of the beret and French Days at St. James' Park, it isn't just Alan Pardew that has brought in players from over the channel, with past managers also far from averse to signing French players to don the black and white stripes. In fact, since Kevin Keegan's first reign as manager, there's been over ten first teamers born there, some of which have been the finest talents to join - and leave - the club over the past twenty years. We don't mean Jean-Alain Boumsong, either. Here we take a look at our own top ten former Toon talents, from World Cup winning flops to top drawer defenders, and from insomniacs to those almost put to sleep by their own team-mate, to see what they brought to Newcastle in their time, and to consider if they'd have any place in the Newcastle side today. (The seven players born in France that were at Newcastle before January 1st, 2013 were Mehdi Abeid, Romain Amalfitano, Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan and Yven Moyo. Abeid has represented Algeria at under-23 level, and Moyo plays international football for Congo. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa was born in the Central African Republic but plays international football for France.)