Newcastle Transfers: 8 Players Rafa Benitez Still Needs To Get Rid Of

"I'm here. I work hard. If I don't play, maybe I'm going to leave in January. I need to be ready and to stay fit. I don't know what's happening after." - Yoan Gouffran, December 2015.

There was a time when Yoan Gouffran was useful on Tyneside, but that era has long since passed. To put it in context, that was a period when Leicester City were in the Championship, Liverpool were title contenders and Jack Colback was shushing St. James’ Park in the red and white of Sunderland.

It would be unfair to lump Gouffran in with the stream of flops that fell off Graham Carr’s conveyor belt from France in the last few years as he once served a purpose, but that is no longer.

Having arrived from Bordeaux in 2013 for a cut-price of £1 million, the winger proved a clever buy by Alan Pardew and a decent addition to the squad for the Europa League run-in. It's three years later however, and the club has traded Europe for relegation, but has continued to drag the Frenchman along for the ride.

Last season he made just eight league appearances, failing to cut it in one of the worst Newcastle teams in living memory. The Frenchman is slow, ponderous and has lost his goalscoring touch - despite his mini-revival in the last few games it’s time to get rid.