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Emmanuel Riviere in demand…Metz hijack striker’s move to Turkey – Reports

7 years ago
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Emmanuel Riviere is now a striker in demand.

Despite only one league goal in the three years since Newcastle were duped into paying £6m to Monaco, the 27 year old now has a number of clubs fighting for his services.

Earlier in July, the French media claimed that Metz were working on a deal to take Emmanuel Riviere back to France to help cure their own goalscoring problems, after being the sixth lowest goalscorers in Ligue 1 last season.

However, Thursday brought news from Turkey that Turkish SuprLig club Osmanlıspor had been in negotiations with both Newcastle United and the player’s representatives, with a move set to be announced shortly.

However, L’equipe now say that whilst there has been talks going on with the Turkish club, Metz have now moved to complete a deal and persuade Riviere to come back to Ligue 1.

The French newspaper says that Metz are confident the transfer will now happen and Newcastle will at long last shift a player who looked certain to go the way of Marveaux and Obertan, with NUFC having to eventually pay up their contracts to get rid of them.

if Emmanuel Riviere is on his way then it can only give us confidence that Rafa Benitez can shift other unwanted players, with it giving a helping hand to landing his own transfer targets.

Emmanuel Riviere is perhaps the player who more than most, underlines the disaster that was the failed Mike Ashley/Graham Carr transfer strategy.

Some 46 signings were made using the Carr/Ashley model before Rafa Benitez arrived, trying to cheat the system by always looking (almost always abroad) for players under a certain age who would/could increase in value.

Rather than buying for the here and now, massive gambles were taken with the club, which led to a number of close shaves with relegation before Ashley managed a second one only seven years after the previous one under his ownership.

Emmanuel Riviere was signed in summer 2014 as Newcastle were desperate for a striker, Loic Remy had scored the goals to keep Newcastle safe the previous season when on loan, but the club desperately needed a quality forward to make sure they’d have a decent 2014/15.

After refusing to pay the price tag on some promising strikers, including a then 23 year old Alexandre Lacazette, Newcastle somehow thought Emmanuel Riviere was the answer.

Only once in his career had the striker managed double figures in a league season and that was only 10 for Monaco in 2013/14.

In the three years since Newcastle paid £6m for Riviere, he has scored one league goal, and that was a total fluke as he hit the ball off his other boot to confuse the QPR keeper (in the three years since Newcastle signed Riviere, Lacazette has scored 91 goals for Lyon in all competitions, and being called up by France, before Arsenal paid around £46m for him this summer).

Newcastle only surviving on the last day of the 2014/15 season thanks to Jonas Gutierrez inspiring the team to a 2-0 win over West Ham on the final day.

After a 2015/16 season of few Newcastle United appearances and fewer goals (none), Emmanuel Riviere found himself on loan to Osasuna last (2016/17) season.

The club were relegated from La Liga with only 22 points and Emmanuel Riviere didn’t manage to score a single goal.

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