HATEM Ben Arfa and Sylvain Marveaux have been frozen out at Newcastle United – and told to train with the reserves. Alan Pardew’s players were put through their paces yesterday on the first full day of pre-season training. But Ben Arfa and Marveaux – who the club are looking to sell this summer – didn’t train with their senior colleagues. Instead, the Gazette understands pair worked with the club’s development squad. Fans’ favourite Ben Arfa sat out the final few weeks of last season after suffering an injury and falling out of favour, and was disciplined for holding an impromptu Press call in which he told of his “frustration” at a lack of first-team starts. The forward also claimed he wanted to stay at St James’s Park – and denied suggestions he had been a disruptive influence behind the scenes. Ben Arfa, 27, has a year left on his United contract, and the Gazette reported in May that he was available for as little as £3m. However, Newcastle have not, as yet, received a firm bid for the club’s most gifted player. Ben Arfa – who could lose his No10 squad number to summer arrival Siem de Jong – remains hugely popular on Tyneside, where he has spent the last four years. Marveaux, meanwhile, has two years left on the lucrative United deal he signed when he joined as a free agent in 2011. The 27-year-old midfielder, pictured, only made a handful of appearances last season, and he has been told he doesn’t feature in manager Alan Pardew’s plans. Newcastle published a series of photographs of the first session on their official website yesterday. But Ben Arfa and Marveaux were conspicuous by their absence. It is unclear whether they will travel to New Zealand next week for the club’s pre-season tour of the country. Captain Fabricio Coloccini – who revealed he was staying at the club in an interview with the Gazette in May – trained alongside de Jong and his fellow new signings Jack Colback and Ayoze Perez. Midfielder Mehdi Abeid – who had a successful loan at Panathinaikos last season – is also back on Tyneside, as is Gabriel Obertan, whose future at United is also uncertain. The session, which followed two days of fitness testing, was overseen by newly-appointed head of fitness Dave Billows. Defender Remie Streete, from South Shields, was also involved. Fit-again Ryan Taylor – who has been sidelined for almost two years – also took part in the session after recovering from a surgery to repair his cruciate ligament for the second time. The 29-year-old thanked Newcastle’s fans on Twitter for their support during his long absence. Taylor tweeted: “What a fantastic feeling it was this morning to be back out training with the team. Moments like that are worth so much to me an my family. “Thankyou so much for all your support throughout my rehab, it’s been much easier with the support you guys have given me.” Pete
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 11:30:17 +0000
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