NEWCASTLE United have been rocked by another high-profile absence from the club’s United States tour – new signing Yohan Cabaye.
Cabaye didn’t travel across the Atlantic yesterday with Alan Pardew’s squad.
And the Gazette understands the midfielder was denied a work visa for the three-game tour by the United States Embassy in London because of a what has been described as a “minor issue”.
Cabaye, signed this summer from French champions Lille, is the third Newcastle player to be denied a visa, with Joey Barton and Nile Ranger having also stayed behind because of criminal convictions in their past.
And the 25-year-old is instead expected to travel to Holland, along with Barton and Ranger, with Peter Beardsley’s development for their three-game pre-season tour.
However, Cabaye’s absence is still a significant blow to Pardew, who had hoped to integrate the France international into his team as quickly as possible ahead of the new campaign.
Cabaye, pictured, impressed in a defensive midfield role in Friday night’s pre-season win at Darlington, where he came on for the injured Danny Guthrie early in the game.
“Yohan will add something to us – he’ll add a pass and an intelligence to our game, for sure,” Pardew told the Gazette.
“The players have already seen that all three are good players. It’s no good on the training ground.
“Even your top players like Colo (Fabricio Coloccini) and Joey, you want to see these players performing in the Premier League.
“You want to see what they’re going to do for us, and only time will tell, but at the moment they’re showing very well.”
Meanwhile, unsettled defender Jose Enrique – who is being tracked by Liverpool and Arsenal – did travel to the United States with his Newcastle team-mates, suggesting a move away from St James’s Park is no closer to being finalised.
However, Guthrie and Shane Ferguson – who was also injured against Darlington – didn’t travel.
