Newcastle must sell Cabaye for virtually identical younger model

Newcastle may have turned down a £14m offer from PSG for Yohan Cabaye, but it remains highly likely that the French midfielder will depart before the end of the transfer window if a bid closer to £20m is offered.

And Newcastle shouldn’t be too concerned about replacing their midfield sharpshooter, as they seem to have already identified his carbon copy at Lyon and he will be available for a lesser price.

Cabaye averages more shots per game than any other Newcastle player, is one of the club’s key passers and top tacklers.

Newcastle’s odds are 13/10 to win at Norwich next, with Cabaye 8/1 to score first and 11/4 to net at any time in the 90 minutes.

However, at the age of 28, Newcastle will do well to get offers of around £20m in another window for Cabaye.

Clement Grenier is only 23 at Lyon, but again is their most frequent shooter from midfield, scoring four goals in the process and accumulating four assists as the biggest provider of key passes at the club.

Furthermore, he makes an average of two tackles per game and is more prolific than Cabaye in terms of successful dribbles and the number of passes he completes in games.

Reports from France intimate that Newcastle have offered a little over £10m for Grenier, while he is also happy to ply his trade abroad, although there has also been interest from Napoli.

Alongside the future of Cabaye, the other deciding factor on any deal could be whether Yoann Gourcuff remains at Lyon, as the French side are unlikely to want to lose both playmakers in the same window, especially as they have catching up to do in their quest to qualify for the Champions League.

This also rings true of captain Maxime Gonalons and chief striker Alexandre Lacazette, who are also sure to attract lots of interest in the final days of the January transfer window.