French outfit OGC Nice have reached an agreement to sign Newcastle’s troubled star Hatem Ben Arfa.
The winger joined Newcaatle from Marseille in 2010, and had a relatively disappointing four-year spell in England for a player touted for big things. After falling out of favour from Alan Pardew’s plans earlier in the summer, Hull City signed the controversial attacker. Matters went worse for the Lyon youth product when Hull manager Steve Bruce sensationally claimed that ‘he didn’t know where Ben Arfa was’ following the Tigres’ defeat to Chelsea, which was seen as the final straw in his Hull City career.
Claude Puel’s side moved forward to offer him an escape route, with Ben Arfa set to undergo a medical on Monday. An official statement on the Les Aiglons’ read,”Nice confirms having reached an agreement in principle with Hatem Ben Arfa. The French international will pass the medical examination Monday, prior to his signature.
“Hatem Ben Arfa has never been so close to Nice. The attacking midfielder is expected to continue his career in the red-and-black jersey.”
The 27-year-old also trained with his new employers earlier this morning, who currently are 11th in the Ligue 1 table.
Pour vous, la 1ère photo d’Hatem Ben Arfa à l’entraînement à Nice, ce matin. http://t.co/KhErhi9j6W . pic.twitter.com/AHNpQmMC4j
— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) January 3, 2015
The move is expected to resuscitate a career marred by attitude problems. Ben Arfa who joined from Marseille for an undisclosed fee, scored 13 goals in 76 appearances for The Magpies.