Ben Arfa nears summer exit

French winger Hatem Ben Arfa is almost certain to leave St James’ Park this summer, reports Le Parisien.

The highly rated footballer found himself on the fringes at Newcastle after clashing with manager Alan Pardew and having rejected a new contract offer, he is widely tipped to leave in the summer transfer window.

Ben Arfa has just a year left on his current deal and club officials do not want to risk losing him on a free transfer.

The former France international will not be travelling to a pre-season training camp in New Zealand, while the fact he was not assigned a shirt number for the new campaign is enough to suggest he will be leaving the club sooner rather than later.

Ben Arfa, 27, will have no shortage of offers this summer as it is believed there will be quite a few clubs prepared to tolerate his unprofessional behaviour in order to acquire such a high-quality player.