In mid January 2013 Newcastle United had a bid in the region of £8m accepted by Marseille for their star forward Loic Rémy. The Frenchman was due to travel to Tyneside to complete the move but in the space of a day he had signed the dotted line in London, for Queens Park Rangers. The ex-Lens man didn’t even bother making the journey to Newcastle and instead opted to sign for the struggling Premier League outfit managed by Harry Redknapp, after a game of FIFA with the club owner Tony Fernandes. There was disappointment across Tyneside from the manager all the way to the supporters, but in the end Rémy suffered relegation with his new club despite a handful of goals. Fastforward to August of 2013 and Newcastle were back in for the 24 year-old, showing no signs of being deterred by his earlier decision to turn down the Magpies. NUFC confirmed weeks later that they had a agreed a loan deal for the France striker and all rumours were put to bed when the club released a cheesy looking photo of new director of football Joe Kinnear and Rémy on the hallowed St. James’ Park turf.

So since his loan move to Newcastle, how has Loic fared out?

Story so far: After just a few games, it was clear to all why exactly Newcastle United had looked to sign Loic not once, but twice. A natural finisher with excellent movement. He found his scoring form and nabbed a brace in a defeat to Hull City at St. James’ Park, quickly followed by three more goals in games against Everton and Cardiff City. With Yohan Cabaye playing behind him, Rémy soon adapted to the Newcastle team, and has settled in well. The 27 year old has shown up with some crucial goals including a fine effort against Tottenham, and indeed a sweetly struck attempt against Chelsea to seal all three points against Jose Mourinho’s men.

Rémy grabbed a well taken effort against West Ham in the club’s last Premier League outing to end a barren spell of 3 games without a goal (!) and hopefully he can continue his scoring form through the rest of the season. Ideally the club will also sort out a permanent deal as soon as his loan ends, but I’m not holding my breath on that one.

Moment of the Season: If Newcastle fans were perhaps still unsure of Rémy’s ability after goals against Hull City and Everton all doubts were well and truly put to bed with a Man of the Match performance away at Cardiff City. Managed by Malky Mackay at the time, the Welsh outfit had beaten Manchester City weeks earlier before Loic tore them to shreds. With his direct running, the Cardiff defence were unable to cope with him and he grabbed two fine goals — his second bearing large similarity to the style of one of the finest strikers the league has ever seen, Thierry Henry.

So folks, Loic Rémy’s review brings an end to my Midterm Report series, however, tomorrow I will be publishing one final review of the others player involved in a handful of games so far this season including Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Hatem Ben Arfa, Shola Ameobi and Papiss Cissé.

Finally, do you have anything to say about Rémy’s form so far this campaign? Well if you do, leave a comment below and also make sure you give me a follow on Twitter @KevinDoocey & like Tyne Time’s Facebook page!

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