The future of Hatem Ben Arfa looks as uncertain as ever, after Steve Bruce claimed the player doesn’t deserve a place in his Hull City squad.
The 27-year-old is currently on loan at the KC Stadium, but he has made just nine appearances in all competitions of which only six have been from a starting berth. He has not featured in the first team squad since the 3-0 defeat at Manchester United at the end of November, and reports in France claim he has returned to his homeland to work on his fitness.
However, speaking after the 2-0 defeat at Premier League leaders Chelsea which keeps the Tigers in the bottom three, Bruce confessed he was unaware of Ben Arfa’s whereabouts. He also placed doubts about the midfielder making a permanent move from Newcastle United, by revealing that the player doesn’t deserve to be considered for his first team plans at present.
“To be honest, I don’t know if Hatem is in Paris,” he said. “As for not playing again for Hull City, then at the moment he’s not in the squad and the transfer window opens in January. There are still conversations to be had with him, but at the moment he is not in the squad and he hasn’t earned the right to be in the squad at the moment. I don’t know if the report he is in France is true.”
During his time in France, Ben Arfa was considered one of the best talents in European football. Having developed through the youth ranks at Lyon, he went on to win the Ligue 1 title in each of the four seasons he played for the club in the first team. He also won the title with Marseille in 2010 before moving to Newcastle, whilst he has collected a total of 13 caps for Les Bleus.
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