Chris Pledge On Signings ; New Faces Will Arrive - but Ben Arfa Hopes Fading: Chris Signing Pledge

Evening Chronicle › August 17, 2010

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Summary

CHRIS HUGHTON says he is "very confident" of bolstering his Newcastle United squad before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month. But hopes of bringing in Marseille rebel Hatem Ben Arfa appear to be fading fast, according to sources in France. The United manager has signed three players this summer in Sol Campbell, Dan Gosling and James Perch, but the frailties of his squad remain a cause for concern. And with Peter Lovenkrands and Danny Guthrie both ruled out with knocks against Manchester United, Hughton was forced to name a youthful squad with teenagers James Tavernier, Haris Vuckic and Nile Ranger on the bench. When asked if he was close to bringing in a new face, Hughton told the Chronicle: "Not at the moment. "It's still a work in progress, but nothing I can confirm.

"It's either a long two weeks, or a short two weeks. "We've continually said we want to bring players in, and I'm very confident we'll have bodies in by the end of that two-week period." Chroniclelive reported yesterday that Ben Arfa was back in the south of France yesterday after his rash bid to win a move to England backfired. The 23-year-old was summoned back to France after infuriating Velodrome officials and his manager Didier Deschamps by going AWOL and heading for Tyneside. The French international will now be made to wait on his future as Marseille future. And it's understood that the chances of Ben Arfa coming to Tyneside again are now minimal. Newcastle are now more likely to make better use of the remaining two weeks of the transfer window rather than get caught up any further in the soap opera. Velodrome president Jean Claude Dassier said: "We recommend a situation where we negotiate with Hatem rather than have a confrontation."

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Chris Pledge On Signings ; New Faces Will Arrive - but Ben Arfa Hopes Fading: Chris Signing Pledge

But after a Marseille statement on the French ...

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