Newcastle confirm Thauvin returns to Marseille

Newcastle United have confirmed that winger Florian Thauvin has re-joined Marseille on a one-year loan deal, with an obligation to make the move permanent.

The 23-year-old left the Stade Velodrome for Newcastle in August 2015 for a fee believed to be in the region of £15million, signing a five-year deal at St James' Park.

Thauvin failed to live up to that price tag, though, and returned to the Ligue 1 side on a temporary basis in January after just 16 competitive appearances for Newcastle.

He returned to Newcastle at the end of his loan spell and featured in four of their five pre-season friendlies, but will now ply his trade for Marseille again in France.

Marseille have already brought in Tomas Hubocan, Saif-Eddine Khaoui, Henri Bedimo, Hiroki Sakai, Bafetimbi Gomis and Aaron Leya Iseka as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 2015-16 campaign.

The club found themselves flirting with relegation before eventually finishing 13th.