Boussoufa ready to take Emre's place on Tyneside

[Scottish Mag 3]

Newcastle United are expected to offer €5m (£4m) for the Anderlecht playmaker Moubarak Boussoufa on Monday, according to reported remarks from senior Anderlecht officials in Brussels yesterday. Skilful and agile, if physically slight, Boussoufa is a 23 year-old Moroccan international who was on Chelsea's books as a teenager.

 

 

Newcastle, however, will find rivals in Atletico Madrid and Lens and there is the added difficulty of Boussoufa's apparent desire to stay in Brussels for at least another season. "I'm negotiating a contract until 2012," Boussoufa told a Belgian newspaper this week, "and it might be the best thing for me to stay one or two more years with Anderlecht."

 

Born in Amsterdam, Boussoufa joined Ajax aged 12 but moved to Chelsea in 2001. This was pre-Abramovich and Boussoufa left after three years once the Russian had come and began to spend money on recruitment. Realising his limited chances, Boussoufa joined Ghent, then Anderlecht after being voted Belgian player of the year in 2006.

 

Were the transfer to be completed, Boussoufa would be a natural replacement for Emre Belozoglu, who is not expected to remain at St James' Park beyond the summer. Like Emre, Boussoufa is predominantly left-footed and another left- sided Newcastle midfielder with an uncertain future is Charles N'Zogbia. Manager Kevin Keegan said yesterday that N'Zogbia needs to integrate himself more at the club if he is to stay.

 

"When I first came in there were eight days left of the transfer window," Keegan said. "Charles and his agent wanted to move him out of here and I wouldn't allow that. Having said that, I said that if he did his best until the end of the season and felt the same way, if he still wanted to go, I would let him. But it would be on our terms. He's got three years left here.

 

"I've had a chat with him today, his training in the last week has been the best since I've been here. If he can learn to be a team player, with his individual skill, he will be a hell of an asset for any club and I would like that club to be Newcastle United."

[Howay 12496]

I've always like the Zog but I'm really starting to hope we get rid of him in the Summer, he has a really terrible personality and almost no work ethic when we're doing poorly.

I have never heard or seen this Boussoufa hopefully he'll be better for us than Emre has been if we get him.

[grasshopper 0]

I've always like the Zog but I'm really starting to hope we get rid of him in the Summer, he has a really terrible personality and almost no work ethic when we're doing poorly.

I have never heard or seen this Boussoufa hopefully he'll be better for us than Emre has been if we get him.

i agree he's yet another bloody mercenary looking for a big money move(zog). i would keep emre because no doubt we'll revert to 442 next season.

[sammynb 3640]

I've always like the Zog but I'm really starting to hope we get rid of him in the Summer, he has a really terrible personality and almost no work ethic when we're doing poorly.

I have never heard or seen this Boussoufa hopefully he'll be better for us than Emre has been if we get him.

i agree he's yet another bloody mercenary looking for a big money move(zog). i would keep emre because no doubt we'll revert to 442 next season.

 

Unfortunately he has more potential to be another Bernard than another Ginola with his attitude.

Maybe some should introduce him the the incredible shrinking man.

[ohhh_yeah 2991]

i have faith that keegan will fix the zog's problems...

[Park Life 71]

Ideally we'll have both.

 

There is another young French winger we're looking at as well.

[luckyluke 2]

His name is too similiar to Boumsong for my liking.

[Fop 1]

I've always like the Zog but I'm really starting to hope we get rid of him in the Summer, he has a really terrible personality and almost no work ethic when we're doing poorly.

I have never heard or seen this Boussoufa hopefully he'll be better for us than Emre has been if we get him.

 

 

He's just French, he can't help it.

[luckyluke 2]

Tbf if I was French I'd be sulky if I played for Newcastle. The weather is hardly comparable to the Cote D'Azur.

[Guest Patrokles]

Tbf if I was French I'd be sulky if I played for Newcastle. The weather is hardly comparable to the Cote D'Azur.

 

Le'Havre is in Normandy, where the weather is quite similar to England.

[Guest alex]

Tbf if I was French I'd be sulky if I played for Newcastle. The weather is hardly comparable to the Cote D'Azur.

I'd be devastated I was plucked from complete obscurity and given a chance in the best league the world (arguably)

[Fop 1]

Tbf if I was French I'd be sulky if I played for Newcastle. The weather is hardly comparable to the Cote D'Azur.

 

And people say global warming is a bad thing, people cutting CO2 is the ONE thing stopping us from signing Ronaldinho.

 

But we'd still be fucked with French players, they almost always find something to sulk about (little known fact that one of Domi's disappearing tricks was initiated because his demand for a 3 hour working week and his own personal 24/7 strawberry jam caddie had been politely turned down, after his blockade of the showers had been thwarted he was herd to comment that "le boeuf had no idea about the needs of a professional footballer or a civilised society" before he left sobbing into his personal handkerchief carriers handkerchief and had to return immediately to France for 2 weeks to recover from the trauma).

[Park Life 71]

Tbf if I was French I'd be sulky if I played for Newcastle. The weather is hardly comparable to the Cote D'Azur.

 

And people say global warming is a bad thing, people cutting CO2 is the ONE thing stopping us from signing Ronaldinho.

 

But we'd still be fucked with French players, they almost always find something to sulk about (little known fact that one of Domi's disappearing tricks was initiated because his demand for a 3 hour working week and his own personal 24/7 strawberry jam caddie had been politely turned down, after his blockade of the showers had been thwarted he was herd to comment that "le boeuf had no idea about the needs of a professional footballer or a civilised society" before he left sobbing into his personal handkerchief carriers handkerchief and had to return immediately to France for 2 weeks to recover from the trauma).

[luckyluke 2]

Tbf if I was French I'd be sulky if I played for Newcastle. The weather is hardly comparable to the Cote D'Azur.

 

Le'Havre is in Normandy, where the weather is quite similar to England.

 

The South of England though.

 

I was more commenting on the general difficulties French players seem to settling at NUFC. Maybe we could elect a diminuitave PM to make them feel at home.

[ewerk 31597]

Tbf if I was French I'd be sulky if I played for Newcastle. The weather is hardly comparable to the Cote D'Azur.

 

Le'Havre is in Normandy, where the weather is quite similar to England.

 

The South of England though.

 

I was more commenting on the general difficulties French players seem to settling at NUFC. Maybe we could elect a diminuitave PM to make them feel at home.

 

Ronnie Corbett for President!