Remy Cabella was a lost puppy at Newcastle United

I know, I know, grab your tissues. Remy Cabella will not be donning a Newcastle kit come August, and frankly you would be hard pressed to find someone who’s upset at the thought of his departure.

The Frenchman is en route back to his home country for next season, signing with his former club Marseille for 7.3 million euros after spending most of the season with them on loan.

He signed with Newcastle from Montpellier in 2014, and to be kind, was nearly invisible in his tenure with the Magpies. In 31 appearances he scored one goal and had a pair of assists as well as a pair of yellow cards.

And that’s about it.

Here’s the goal, which you could argue was the most “right place at the right time” goal of 2014-15, but nevertheless.

In 41 matches with Marseille this season, he looked exponentially better (9 goals, 6 assists) than any point while with Tyneside, so maybe France is simply just a better fit.

But what exactly went wrong?

A fair enough case can be made given his form this season in France that he could have conceivably been another test subject of Rafael Benitez’s late season stint with Newcastle. The likes of Moussa Sissoko to Georginio Wijnaldum all saw a pickup in their play with Rafa at the helm, so was Cabella deserving of another chance in England?

The reality is no, probably not.

What was most noticeable about Cabella’s time in the Premier League was that more often than not, he looked like a lost puppy on the pitch, and frequently found himself in trouble and in need of his teammates to pick up his slack.

Though I suppose in that case, maybe he would have been a seamless fit with Newcastle this season then.

What potentially redeeming factors he could have provided for Newcastle (i.e. speed, finesse, somewhat above-average athleticism) was fittingly as nonexistent as he was. Flashes were shown at times, sure, but by and large he was as forgettable as they come.

The problem is, it shouldn’t have been that way.

Now that it is soon to be in the rear view mirror, let’s treat it like the rest of the problems: ignore its existence and hope it never happens again.

(Spoiler alert: it will)