Del not the boy

This summer was marked by a French revolution in the dressing room at St James' Park, but it seems our contingent of recruits from Ligue 1 could have been even larger. PSG's Mevlut Erdinc and Sochaux's Modibo Maiga we missed out on, of course, but Auxerre midfielder Delvin Ndinga has claimed that he too was a target for us, amongst other Premier League sides. The Congo international's club were prepared to sell, but Ndinga decided to defer a decision for another year, wanting to "prove my worth in the French league" first.