NEWCASTLE fans must be tearing their hair out when they look at Marseille this season.
Florian Thauvin was a joke figure on Tyneside, who had arrived with a reputation as a future superstar.
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He was kicked out of Toon following one pathetic season which ended with the club relegated from the Premier League.
But, back at his former club, he has been a revelation — and is rivalling Neymar for the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award following an incredible campaign.
Thauvin joined Newcastle from Marseille in the summer of 2015 and made his debut away at Manchester United.
He looked lively during the 0-0 draw and was inches away from snatching a dramatic last-minute winner.
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Getty
But it would not get any better. He produced 13 inept displays in the Premier League — and drew the wrath of Toon legend Alan Shearer for turning up on a matchday in a tuxedo.
Following relegation, he was loaned back to Marseille, who made the deal permanent at a fraction of the price they sold him for.
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And they are now laughing all the way to the bank.
Marseille are fighting Monaco to be Ligue 1’s second-best side behind runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain, while they are still in the Europa League.
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Getty Images
But they are doing this while star signing Dimitri Payet is struggling for form. The former West Ham man may have produced the odd dazzling moment, but his overall output has been underwhelming.
Thauvin, still just 25, has been the star man. When the team need a goal, he steps up — and when they’re blowing teams away, he he gets in on the act.
He superbly netted what looked to be a late winner against PSG at the Velodrome earlier this season, only for Edinson Cavani to hit a stoppage time equaliser.
His 17 goals include two in a 5-0 win over Caen and a hat-trick in 6-3 hammering of Metz.
In late 2017, he netted in three games in a row — two of which won his sides points — and has started 2018 like a train.
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AFP
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He has seven goals in his last seven appearances and nine in his 11 matches since the turn of the year.
At the weekend, he rescued a scarcely-deserved point in the fifth minute of stoppage time against Nantes.
Now a France international, Thauvin is the highest goal scoring midfielder in Ligue 1 and a serious contender for the Player of the Year.
Newcastle’s leading marksman this season is Dwight Gayle with five.
What they need is a player like Thauvin.
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