Nobody's biting on Sylvain Marveaux for £3 million (Or, Newcastle United's transfer policy remains stagnant)

According to Mark Douglas of The Journal, Newcastle United are actively shopping Sylvain Marveaux, Hatem Ben Arfa, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, and Gabriel Obertan to teams in France - but aren't getting any bites yet. They're said to be seeking £3 million for Marveaux.

That's the headline. While we knew that this was likely going to happen with a number of fringe players (French ones in particular), it's still fairly disappointing to see Newcastle conducting an auction, ostensibly so they can afford to purchase some slightly different players. Douglas mentions the report that long-time target Bafetimbi Gomis is no longer an option following a low-ball offer (By the way, several outlets are reporting that he's speaking to clubs in London today), and it appears that Mike Ashley's people continue to haggle with Montpellier over mere pennies (slight exaggeration) concerning Remy Cabella.

Newcastle is a sell-before-buying club. It's disappointing, but we've known that for quite some time. Personally, I'd rather deploy Ben Arfa, MYM, and Marveaux correctly and hang onto them. As long as Alan Pardew stands on the touchline, however, we'll always have this awkward revolving door in the way. Ashley still conducts his business as if players are still beating down the door to play on Tyneside, but it's simply not the case. Now they're just tired of waiting for it to be opened, and they're leaving before they ever get in.

Here we are in the midst of Say Something Positive About NUFC Week, and I'm drawing a blank. Something something financial stability, I guess. Blah.