Loic Remy insists he has no regrets over snubbing a move to Newcastle United in January, despite the form he has shown since finally arriving on Tyneside.
Alan Pardew was eager to sign the France international during the winter transfer window, and looked to have landed his man having agreed a fee of over £12million with Marseille. However, the striker snubbed the move to St James’ Park, and instead opted for the bright lights of the capital and a relegation fight with Queens Park Rangers.
This was a battle he and the Loftus Road club would ultimately lose, and when they did so, it soon became apparent that Remy would be on the move again. And when Newcastle came knocking for a second time, the 26-year-old this time decided to make the move to the North East giants and has since been in sensational form for the club.
A brace in the 2-1 win at Norwich City on Saturday afternoon takes his tally to five goals in as many games, meaning only Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge has notched more in the Premier League. Pardew has unsurprisingly revealed he wants to turn Remy’s loan move into a permanent deal when the window reopens, but the player is refusing to look so far ahead. Indeed, he even claims to have no regrets about snubbing Newcastle in the first place, despite the disappointment of relegation with the club he chose.
“For the moment the question is not in my head,” Remy said about the possibility of a permanent transfer. “We have time and I will go game by game. It is a good question but right now I am not focused on that. I don’t regret not joining in January. I decided to join QPR in January, but it was a choice after QPR went down. I was happy to see Newcastle come back to me so now it is down to me to do the best I can for the club.”
Hoops manager Harry Redknapp last week admitted he didn’t expect Remy to return when his loan stint finishes, even if QPR have earned promotion back to the top-flight at this point. The potential problem for Pardew is that, if by the time the loan term finishes, the Les Bleus ace has impressed so much that he has earned interest from rival clubs. In the past, for instance, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have shown an interest.
