Tuesday, 2nd July, 2013
Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain may be seeking a swoop for Newcastle United man Yohan Cabaye, but the Frenchman remains fully focused on helping the Magpies turn their fortunes around for next season.
Both Ligue 1 clubs have put Cabaye on their radar with the player himself quite experienced in France, having moved to England after spending seven years with Lille’s senior squad.
Monaco sporting director Vadim Vasilyev had even hailed Cabaye as "very interesting", unsurprising considering that he clocked 26 Premier League games and scored six goals alongside nine Europa League appearances.
Newcastle have returned for pre-season training minus Cabaye, who will join a few days later owing to prior international commitments, but the 27-year-old was already looking forward to the new league season.
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He told the club’s official site: "It was a hard and difficult season [last time] but I am thinking about the future. It’s going to be interesting because we learnt a lot.
"It was a difficult season for us. We started quite well and then had a big hole where we were losing a lot of games."
Newcastle’s performances last season have come under a fair amount of criticism, with even manager Alan Pardew’s long-term contract not spared the wrath of fans and the media.
Their 16th-placed finish – just five points off the relegation zone – brought their fairy tale return to the Premier League to an end, and Cabaye is hoping for a fresh slate, with Manchester City set to be their first opponents.
"We had a lot of injuries to players as well, with big players missing, and that was hard when we were playing in the Premier League and the Europa League", Cabaye added.
"But we fought together and stayed together and we fought to be a Premier League squad next season which is the most important thing, I think.
"We have to learn from our mistakes but the main thing was safety and the club staying in the Premier League."
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