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Opinion

Baffling comments about Florian Thauvin from Steve McClaren

8 years ago
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Great win for Newcastle United today but surprised to see no sign of Florian Thauvin on the bench.

Fair enough, I didn’t expect him to be in the starting eleven against West Ham but the way that Steve McClaren went on about him yesterday…it was all very bizarre that there was no sign of him.

Thursday and Friday had seen numerous claims that it was a done deal for Florian Thauvin to be heading back to Marseille on loan for the rest of the season.

However, Steve McClaren was full-on when asked about these rumours/claims at his Friday afternoon press conference.

The Newcastle boss said Florian Thauvin was not in France but was actually still on Tyneside, fit, and in the squad for today’s match.

McClaren saying that the club still believed in the winger’s potential.

Very surprising then to see Steve McClaren leave Thauvin out of his matchday 18, especially when he has gone on about the player having low confidence. Leaving him out of the matchday squad altogether is hardly going to do him any good you’d imagine.

Earlier today BBC Sport confirmed that Newcastle had contacted Tottenham to begin talks about the transfer of Andros Townsend, something else that doesn’t add up if Newcastle honestly see Florian Thauvin as the answer to Newcastle’s winger shortage.

Steve McClaren speaking on Friday:

‘Would you allow Florian Thauvin to go out on loan?’

“He is a Newcastle player, he is fit, he trained this morning, he is in the squad for tomorrow (West Ham) and there’s a lot of noise from outside, but this week and all weeks and in the future, he is a Newcastle player.”

‘The club spent a lot of money, is it frustrating he hasn’t worked out straight away?’

“We were talking earlier about the impact he made at the Northampton game, a player with quality and ability. 

“Some players are like that when they come to the Premier League, some settle and some take a while, take their time and need to adapt. Unfortunately Florian is one of those players.

“He works hard, we like him, he is a good player and that is why we bought him in he summer and still believe in his potential. Sometimes wingers take longer to settle, Remy Cabella was the same.”

(To feature like Dale, send in your articles for our website to contribute@themag.co.uk)

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