Man Rafa thought he would struggle to offload is now in demand
WITHOUT A GOAL IN 800 DAYS, BUT CLUBS BATTLE TO SNAP UP FLOP RIVIERE
AS 35 players trained at Newcastle United’s Benton base during the first week of pre-season, Rafa Benitez and his Magpie coaches had already been assessing which of the dead wood they needed to offload.
Tim Krul’s future had long since been decided - and it was not to be on Tyneside - while Achraf Lazaar, Henri Saivet and Grant Hanley were among the players who could tell their time in the North East was limited.
Matz Sels had already been sent out on loan by that stage, less than a year into his Newcastle career, while Daryl Murphy’s agent had long been searching for the Irishman’s next club.
Throughout this time, one lingering concern remained among the coaching staff: How on earth were Newcastle going to find a buyer for Emmanuel Riviere?
Incredibly, with more than a month still left to run in this summer’s window, there appears to be a tug of war stretching from France all the way to Turkey for Riviere’s signature.
Some supporters may even have been forgiven for simply forgetting that the Frenchman was still a United player, given the fact he has not made an appearance in black and white during Benitez’s Newcastle tenure.
In fact, the last time the forward pulled on a Newcastle shirt was that infamous day when Steve McClaren sealed his own fate by bizarrely bringing Riviere in from the cold to start up front against AFC Bournemouth at St James’ Park. That decision, perhaps unsurprisingly, failed dramatically as Riviere misfired and United were humbled 3-1 in front of their own supporters.
So left field was Riviere’s recall that it was deemed to be the final act of a desperate man who knew his days on Tyneside were numbered.
Within a week, McClaren was dismissed and it took his successor Benitez little more than a few days to deem Riviere surplus to requirements - as well as a potentially disruptive influence in the dressing room.
The Frenchman was told to find a new club last summer but it took until the final hours of the window
Despite having scored fewer goals than Grant Hanley, DeAndre Yedlin or Chancel Mbemba, Riviere is a man in demandd
before La Liga side Osasuna could be convinced to take him on loan.
He made 15 league appearances but failed to score - he has actually accrued more red cards (one) than goals.
His last competitive goal came in May 2015 during the 2-1 defeat at Queens Park Rangers - a strike which, on first viewing, looked like an excellent finish but which actually turned out to be a mishit shot which ricocheted off his standing leg and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.
That was fully 804 days ago. He has not hit the back of the net for anyone since.
Yet, despite the striker having scored fewer goals last season than Grant Hanley, DeAndre Yedlin or Chancel Mbemba, Riviere is reportedly a man in demand.
United have gone from worrying they would be unable to offload the Frenchman and instead being forced to pay him off to allegedly having two concrete offers for his signature.
Turkish club Osmanlispor have been in talks with the Frenchman’s representatives for more than a fortnight and appear keen, while Ligue 1 outfit Metz are seemingly hopeful of returning Riviere to the sort of form which saw him net 13 goals in a single season for Monaco.
For all of the work Newcastle still need to do in the transfer market this summer, perhaps none of it appeared as gargantuan a task as offloading Riviere just a few weeks ago.
Now, with two clubs locked in a fight for his signature across Europe, United may even recoup a significant share of the £6million they paid Monaco to sign him three summers ago.
That really would represent a transfer success.