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

8. Louis Saha

Louis SahaBorn: August 8th, 1978 in Paris Signed By: Ruud Gullit in 1999 on loan Signed From: Metz Left Newcastle: 1999 at end of loan deal League Appearances: 11 League Goals: 1 A Premier League stalwart for many years, Louis Saha is a player than most non-Newcastle fans forget once played on Tyneside, such was the brevity of his stay at the club. Signed by Ruud Gullit in 1999, Saha played on loan from French club Metz before the club opted not to make his move permanent at the end of the season. A promising yet little-known 20-year-old at the time of his loan move, Saha had trained at Clairefontaine, but arrived with little footballing experience, and by the end of his stay at Newcastle this greenness had become apparent. Saha's biggest contribution on Tyneside was the winning goal in the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Blackburn Rovers, as he filled in for Alan Shearer, with his only other goal coming in a 4-1 Premier League win over Coventry City the week before. This gave him two goals in three starts at the club, but the form proved not to continue as the season progressed. Despite his FA Cup goal, Louis Saha was left out of the squad for the FA Cup final loss, and no known attempt to sign him on a permanent basis was made at the end of the campaign. His Newcastle adventure over, Saha returned to Metz before gracing English football again with Fulham the following year. His 53 goals in 117 games there secured him a move to Manchester United, where he spent four years and featured for France in their run to the 2006 World Cup final. Later in his career, Saha become one of the few players to have played on both Tyneside and Wearside, featuring in 11 league games - the same number as he did at Newcastle - for Sunderland. He now plays his football in Serie A for Lazio. It's a mystery as to what would have happened should Saha have moved to Newcastle permanently, with his success in his second stint in English football suggesting that he could have been a strong asset to the team, possibly taking the role of Craig Bellamy alongside Shearer under Sir Bobby Robson. Would he make the cut today? In his prime, yes. Although he still plays at a good level with Lazio, his performances at Sunderland did nothing to suggest he could currently displace the current first team striking line-up. At his best, however, he'd be a strong candidate for a starting berth.
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Dave Hedley is a writer, journalist and broadcaster based in Newcastle. A keen follower of both music and sport, and a keen follower of Newcastle United, he writes for WhatCulture! on football and other sports.