French winger Gabriel Obertan has signed a five-year deal with Newcastle United after deciding to depart Premier League champions Manchester United. The former Red Devils man's move up to the north-east of England is the latest in a string of transfers for a player who has never quite managed to fulfill the lofty expectations that were set for him during the early years of his footballing career in France.
Obertan joined Manchester United in 2009 after lighting up the pitch with Bordeaux, but Sir Alex Ferguson failed to see the level of consistency or flair in the player that would have made him a fixture in the Red Devils' starting line-up.
The youngster is hopeful, despite his less than happy time in Manchester, that success will come on a personal level in Newcastle. The Frenchman stated that he is excited about joining up with "a big club with history" after a "difficult" two years at Old Trafford that saw the stiff competition in midfield crowd him out. With Newcastle manager Alan Pardew also stating his excitement at the deal, the former West Ham boss stating that the player's "pace and excellent technique" were key reasons behind the decision to poach him from Manchester, it could just be a turning point in Obertan's career.
The news regarding the young player will have given Newcastle fans something significant to smile about, with Magpies supporters not enjoying the best of summers after they saw influential midfielder and club captain Kevin Nolan decide to take a pay cut to slip down into the Championship to turn out in London for Sam Allardyce's West Ham outfit. Newcastle supporters also haven't found it particularly amusing to witness the ongoing controversy and bad blood caused by Joey Barton's inability to keep quiet on Twitter.
With Obertan adding a fifth face to the four Frenchmen who have already signed for the Magpies during the summer transfer window (with those other individuals being Demba Ba, Sylvain Marveaux, Mehdi Abeid, and Yohan Cabaye), it could well be that the future for Newcastle lies primarily in the hands of a talented and hungry to succeed young quintet from over the Channel.
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