10 players who cost more than Yohan Cabaye

Newcastle's Yohan Cabaye has had a slow start to the 2012/13 season, but after a Zidane-esque volley against Liverpool the midfielder is starting to show the form from last year that reportedly had Arsenal, United and even Barcelona interested.

At £4.4 million, the 26-year-old is surely Graham Carr's shrewdest signing and you have to ask why Lille let their title winning captain leave for such a modest amount in the summer of 2011. A superb debut season on Tyneside and being arguably the best performer from the doomed France EURO 2012 campaign have further increased his potential value.

With Yann M'Vila suspended by the French football association until after Brazil 2014, and the ensuing absence of Hatem Ben Arfa and Samir Nasri for disciplinarian reasons, Cabaye is fast becoming the first choice midfielder for France under Didier Deschamps.

The midfielder is one of Newcastle's most creative outlets and is one of the most technically gifted players in his position in the Premier League. Just to underline how cheap Cabaye was, here are ten players who cost more than the Frenchman. Are any of them better than Cabaye?

£5 million - Jamie O'Hara

As likeable as Mick McCarthy is, signing O'Hara, who has never looked better than Championship fodder, and Roger Johnson for £7 million are sackable offences. Woeful.

£10 million - Jack Rodwell

Rodwell has made five appearances for City after his surprise switch this summer, and has cost his team a goal on at least two occasions so far. A 40% hit rate.

£6.5 million - Marko Marin 

When Chelsea announced they were signing a young, nimble, technically gifted young German, Marko Marin was probably not the name supporters were hoping for. Commentators in Germany expressed bemusement at the switch and injury has prevented him from proving them right.

£8 million - Charlie Adam

He has a good left peg. But, that is it. £8 million after six good months in a team that was built around you, yet relegated, feel free Liverpool.

£8.5 million - Matt Jarvis

Not strictly the same position as Cabaye, but this is an extortionate amount for a player who's only party piece is running as close to the bye-line and lifting the ball in the box. #englishpremium

£5.8 million - Joey Barton

Pre Graham Carr, Newcastle decided to sell Scott Parker to West Ham for sub £5 million and replace him with Joey Barton. Parker eventually won Football Writers Player of the year. Barton, meanwhile has been farmed out to France.

£20 million - Alberto Aquilani

Aquilani wasn't bad, per se, he just never really got a run of games in England, either because of injury or managers who didn't take a fancy to his lackadaisical Italian stylings.

£12 million - Gareth Barry

Barry earned his move to Manchester City, after nearly replacing Xabi Alonso at Liverpool, on the back of scoring lots of penalties for Aston Villa. His last performance against Ajax, was a reminder of how out of his depth the once 'saviour for England' has fallen.

£6.5 million - Kleberson

No list of midfield flops would be complete without Kleberson, who infamously won a World Cup with Brazil in 2002. People often forget that he helped knock England out in 2002, but a haul of two goals in 20 games for United was deemed a 'flop'.

French Connection

The much vaunted Clairefontaine academy in France saw two of its recent graduates, Abou Diaby and Hatem Ben Arfa, star this weekend in the English Premier League and makes the recent opening of St George's Park in Burton seem about 20 years too late. 

Diaby was rightly named man-of-the-match after his role in the 2-0 dismissal of Liverpool and after two seasons virtually lost through injury the rangy midfielder is filling an Alex Song size hole with ease. It’s easy to forget that the Frenchman has been at Arsenal for six years, joining just two after Robin Van Persie came in from an exile at Feyenoord. His recent career has been stunted by injuries, which have affected his game since early on during his time at Auxerre, and if he had been available to Arsene Wenger more than 115 times we could be looking at an entirely different Arsenal team.

Quickly dubbed the ‘new Viera’ after joining in 2006, Diaby became an integral part of the Arsenal side and full international recognition came in 2007. His athleticism and presence in midfield was an integral part of Arsenal’s game with Diaby operating alongside Fabregas and Alex Song in a central midfield three; performances which led to a place at the 2010 World Cup. Diaby started all three of France’s disastrous campaign in South Africa and spent the next two seasons rehabilitating from injuries.

His seeming return to full fitness for 2012/2013 has been a substantial boost for Arsene Wenger who is still without Jack Wilshire and sold the influential Alex Song to Barcelona for £15 million. Arsenal are three games into the season and are yet to concede many chances, yet alone a goal. Much has been said about Steve Bould marshalling the Arsenal back four, but a midfield of Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta and Diaby hasn’t allowed other teams to settle and has masked what remain misfiring strikers.

Oliver Giroud missed another sitter (on his favoured foot this time) and despite scoring Podolski doesn’t look like a 20 goal a season finisher. Arsenal will always create chances because of their open and attacking principles and once the strikers start taking their chances, should have a good season.

Meanwhile in Newcastle the enigmatic Hatem Ben Arfa added another stunning goal to his repertoire, adding to strikes against Everton, Blackburn and Bolton. His rumoured fee of £5 million was somewhat of a gamble as the 25-year-old was recuperating from a Nigel De Jong-ed ankle and his given reputation for aggravating trouble and testing managers.

This temperament was captured on camera in the French documentary, A la Clairefontaine, which followed the French academy players, of which Ben Arfa was the youngest trainee. In a famous clip he is seen arguing and almost coming to blows with a 16-year-old Abou Diaby, providing a fascinating insight into what it must be like to leave home so young and dedicate your life to becoming a professional footballer (Take note Adrian Bevington).

Ben Arfa was part of a generation soon dubbed L’enfant terrible by the French press, that also included Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri and Jeremy Menez. This team won the European Under-17 Football Championship, defeating a Spain side that included Gerrard Pique and Cesc Fabregas but Ben Arfa was the star of the tournament. Feted as the new Zinedine Zidane, helped by his North African heritage, from the age of 17 Ben Arfa became a figure of disruption and managed to alienate Lyon and Marseille, then the two biggest clubs in France. A move to Newcastle was in all respect a come-down for a player who interested the likes of Real and Arsenal early in his career.

That Alan Pardew has been able to tame Ben Arfa is one of his greatest accomplishments at Newcastle and now he has devised a system that allows Ben Arfa to commit defenders the Frenchman has thrived. With a tally of nine goals for Newcastle he has beaten his goal record at Lyon and at Marseille in roughly half the number of games. Even more impressive is that at least five of his goals in England have been screamers, created from nothing.

Despite both Diaby and Ben Arfa enjoying a career renaissance, their fortunes on the international stage have contrasted visibly. Ben Arfa made Laurent Blanc’s 23 for Poland and Ukraine but fell-out with then France coach, Laurent Blanc, as did three other players. He was fined and dropped for the upcoming set of World Cup qualifiers and having finally broken back into the national set up, may have blown his second chance. Meanwhile, Diaby is included in Didier Deschamp’s squad for games versus Finland and Belarus, a first call-up since last June. Both players are products of the successful Clairefontaine academy, which you hope the FA have seriously looked at, and are enjoying second winds in the English game.