Marseille coach claims he didn't want Florian Thauvin back from Newcastle

Thauvin returned to Marseille over the weekend after bringing to an end a unhappy five-month spell at Newcastle, who he joined for £13million in August.

But Michel has revealed he didn’t ask for Thauvin to return, and had hoped to sign a striker instead.

“He is not a player that I asked for, but every good player will be well received,” said Michel.

“We need a centre forward. I thought it (the requested scorer) would improve the team, but for different circumstances, that does not happen.

“Thauvin is an interesting player, but this is not the player I had asked for. He is a very good player.

“I asked for a centre forward to address the problem of our team.”

However, Michel could still get a striker in as Sunderland forward Steven Fletcher is understood to be in talks with Marseille over a move until the end of the season.