The agent of Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Clement Grenier, Frederic Guerra, has revealed his client will not be joining Newcastle United in the January transfer window.
The France international, 23, has been linked with a January move to Tynside following the sale of Yohan Cabaye to French moneybags Paris Saint-Germain in a deal reportedly worth £23 million.
However, Guerra is adamant that Grenier — valued at around £15 million — will stay at the Stade de Gerland this month because he does not want to be the ‘replacement’ for Cabaye.
“It is not easy to say no to a big club like Newcastle but Clement is finally decided to stay in Lyon,” Guerra told Le 10 Sport, as per Sky Sports.
“Clement would have arrived at Newcastle – not as Clement Grenier but as Yohan Cabaye’s replacement.
“I have the upmost respect for a player of Cabaye’s quality. But who deserves to have that tag?
“As his agent I ask is he worth half the price of Cabaye?
“For all those reasons it has led us to decline the offer from Newcastle.
“The conditions of the deal did not seem fair.”
Grenier, whose current contract with Les Gones expires in the summer of 2016, has bagged four goals and four assists in 20 Ligue 1 appearances for Lyon this season.
Fulham close on Mitroglou
English Premier League strugglers Fulham are on the verge of completing the club record signing of Olympiakos striker Kostas Mitroglou, according to Goal.com.
The highly-rated Greece international, 25, reportedly underwent a medical at the Cottagers’ Motspur Park headquarters on Thursday.
In addition, Fulham are close to agreeing permanent deals for Manchester United duo Larnell Cole and Ryan Tunnicliffe while Lewis Holtby could join the club from Tottenham, with Dimitar Berbatov heading to White Hart Lane for a fee of £1.5 million.
Norwich City sign Joseph Yobo
Norwich City have completed the loan signing of former Everton defender Joseph Yobo from Turkish Süper Lig giants Fenerbahçe.
Yobo, 33, will spend the remainder of the 2013/14 season at Carrow Road after falling out-of-favour under manager Ersun Yanal at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.
“NCFC can confirm the loan signing of Joseph Yobo from Fenerbahce until the end of the season, subject to governing body approval,” revealed the Canaries via Twitter.
Yobo arrives as defensive cover for the injured Michael Turner, who continues to be sidelined due to a hamstring problem.
“As most know we’ve got a problem with Michael Turner, who’s got a hamstring pull which will continue to keep him out for a fair amount of time, so it’s an area we needed to fill,” added manager Chris Hughton.
“Of course what Joseph is about is that he’s someone who knows this division very well, and has great experience.”
Norwich are scheduled to visit bottom-of-the-table Cardiff on Saturday.
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