Chelsea released Loic Remy to La Liga side Las Palmas this summer, meaning Newcastle United missed out on their former fans' favourite.
It hasn’t taken Loic Remy long to find his feet at Las Palmas. The Frenchman moved to the Canary Islands on a free transfer this summer to kick-start a career that had stalled since an ill-judged switch from QPR to Chelsea in the summer of 2014.
Stuck behind Diego Costa in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, Remy started just nine Premier League games in two years before an injury-stricken loan spell at Crystal Palace in 2016/17 failed to resuscitate his reputation.
However, the early signs are that the 30-year-old made the right decision swapping London for Las Palmas this summer. Just 22 minutes into his debut, Remy opened his account with a goal reminiscent of his Marseille peak.
A superb first touch took the ball away from a hapless Malaga defender before coolly slotting a right-footed finish into the bottom corner to seal an impressive 3-1 away win.
It was the sort of strike that saw Remy thrive at Newcastle United during the 2013/14 season, in which he netted 14 times in 24 starts in a prolific loan spell from Queens Park Rangers.
And with Newcastle looked for attacking reinforcements for much of the window, rumours were that they attempted a reunion this summer. The Sun reported in late August that The Magpies had held talks with Chelsea about the possibility of Remy returning to St James’ Park on a season-long loan.
And though Newcastle have won their last two Premier League games, Dwight Gayle’s struggles and Aleksandar Mitrovic’s attitude problems mean an in-form Remy would have been welcomed with open arms on Tyneside as the striker capable of ensuring their top flight survival.