Former Newcastle United flop back in black and white after securing shock Serie A move

Former Newcastle United winger Florian Thauvin has completed a surprise move to Serie A club Udinese - just days after making an abrupt exit from Mexican club Tigres.

The 30-year-old was released from his contract with the Liga MX side last week as they freed up a foreign player spot to allow the completion of a move for Argentinean striker Nicolas Ibanez. The unexpected termination of his deal brought an end to a disappointing 16-month spell in Mexico after Thauvin was sent off on his Tigres debut against Santos Laguna before going on to score eight goals and provide five assists in 38 appearances in all competitions.

The former Marseille winger suffered a similarly underwhelming spell at Newcastle after making a reported £12m move to St James Park in the summer of 2015. Thauvin would make just 16 appearances for the Magpies - scoring one goal in a League Cup win against Northampton Town - before returning to Marseille on loan just six months after his arrival. That deal was extended to cover the entirity of the 2016/17 season, before before being converted into a £9.8m deal at the end of the campaign.

Speaking about his time on Tyneside and his prolonged exit to Marseille, Thauvin said: “I came home in the evening and told my girlfriend that this was it – it was over. I wasn’t playing at Newcastle. I ended up at this club lost, no one talked to me. My phone never rang. I had my family and my girlfriend. That’s when I decided to grab the bull by the horns and said ‘I’m going back to Marseille and I’ll make a name for myself’. And that’s what happened.”

Thauvin remained at the Stade Velodrome until his move to Mexico in the summer of 2021 - but he will now get an opportunity to revive his career back in black and white after his surprise move to Udinese.