Saturday 3 January 2015 14:55, UK
French club Nice have agreed a loan deal for Newcastle's Hatem Ben Arfa, subject to a medical.
Ben Arfa was scheduled to return to training on Tyneside next week after Hull City manager Steve Bruce decided to terminate his loan period on Humberside.
Despite lauding the player's qualities on his arrival back in August, Bruce soon fell out with Ben Arfa, who made just eight appearences for City and has been training on his own in France in order to maintain his fitness.
The 27-year-old had suffered a similar fate on Tyneside, where he had been frozen out of the first team picture by Alan Pardew, having failed to sustain the highly-favourable impression he had made on his arrival from Marseille in 2010.
Nice are 11th in Ligue 1, just three points off the relegation places. Barring any unforeseen hitches, the deal should be confirmed after a medical next week.
A Nice statement read: "We have reached an agreement in principle with Hatem Ben Arfa. The France international will have a medical on Monday prior to signing with Le Gym."
