Overrated Bafetimbi Gomis Will Disappoint Newcastle Fans

Something is very wrong with a club’s scouting system when it recommends a player of profile ahead of others who, despite more modest reputations, would better suit its needs.

On Friday it was revealed Newcastle were close to agreeing to just such a move—a swoop for Bafetimbi Gomis that, according to Goal, would cost the Magpies around €8 million plus €2 million in add-ons.

A reasonable price, to be sure, but while Gomis is a nice player, he is in no way the star striker the St. James’ Park outfit assumes it is getting.

Of course, director of football Joe Kinnear has been desperate to sign someone, anyone, since resurfacing at the club nearly two months ago. And with contract talks between Gomis and Olympique Lyonnais having broken down, he was able land a forward who has been shopped around for some time.

It’s not hard to see why.

Once you get past the facts that Gomis is a sometimes France international (he has earned 10 caps since 2008) and has represented one of the biggest clubs in the country since a 2009 move from St. Etienne, you end up with a forward who has proved massively overrated since his €13 million switch to Stade Gerland four years ago.

Kinnear, you feel, fell victim to the hype surrounding the 27-year-old and the glamour of completing a foreign acquisition. But none of that means his new signing will make much of an impact on the pitch.

In Gomis, Newcastle fans will find themselves with a player who ends up in offside positions far too often and who is loathe to do any sort of tracking back.

His 16 tallies may have seen him finish fourth in Ligue 1 goalscoring last season, but he also gave the ball away far too often and averaged fewer shots per match than the likes of Anthony Modeste, Andre-Pierre Gignac and Jeremie Aliadiere.

Modeste, for example, would have represented a similarly effective transfer and would have cost about half what Newcastle will end up paying for Gomis. And if Newcastle are as keen on French talent as the past few transfer windows indicate, they would have done far better to go after Toulouse attacker Wissam Ben Yedder.

That’s assuming Kinnear has heard of either player, and that he likely hasn’t only serves to further drive home the point.