Cabaye bids farewell to Newcastle pals as he heads to PSG to complete £23m move



A fee of £23million is agreed between the two clubs

A delegate of Paris Saint-Germain officials were on Tyneside and initially offered £14m



But Newcastle face bitter rivals Sunderland on Saturday



Cabaye will be an enormous loss to the Magpies - he has scored five goals in his last seven outings



Alan Pardew is hoping to complete a deal for Borussia Monchengladbach's Luuk de Jong



Montpellier midfielder Remy Cabella is likely to arrive at St James's Park

Director of football Joe Kinnear previously claimed he would 'not let any player leave Newcastle in this transfer window' (January 20th)



Yohan Cabaye has left Newcastle’s base in Norfolk to complete his £23million move to Paris St Germain.

The France international has said his final farewells to his Newcastle team-mates, including close friend Mathieu Debuchy, after the French club offered a deal, with add-ons, which is closer to owner Mike Ashley’s valuation.

Cabaye is expected in the French capital at lunchtime for a medical and to agree and finalise personal terms.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch Alan Pardew discuss Cabaye's importance to Newcastle



Worry: Alan Pardew admits he is not confident of keeping Yohan Cabaye at Newcastle

On form: Cabaye has been outstanding for Newcastle in recent weeks

The former Lille player, who joined Newcastle for just £4.5million, pushed through the move which comes five months after he went on strike when Arsenal’s bid was turned down. He told manager Alan Pardew after training yesterday that he was keen to move back to France.

His departure is a blow to Pardew, whose side face Norwich City and former manager Chris Hughton tonight, before they take on Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby on Saturday lunchtime.

Pardew and chief scout Graham Carr now have until Friday to find a replacement for Cabaye, who has been their outstanding player this season after returning to the side following the closure of the August transfer window. They are also hoping to complete a deal to bring in Holland striker Luuk de Jong.

KINNEAR: 'I WILL NOT LET ANY PLAYER LEAVE IN THIS TRANSFER WINDOW' Joe Kinnear Yohan Cabaye's imminent move to Paris Saint Germain for a fee of £23million is at odds with a statement made by Newcastle's director of football Joe Kinnear on January 20th.

Kinnear insisted that the France international would not be leaving St James's Park after earlier interest from Arsenal and the big spending Ligue 1 club.

'I will not let any player leave Newcastle United in this transfer window,' said Kinnear only eight days ago. By Richard Arrowsmith



Montpellier’s midfielder Remy Cabella remains the favourite to join Newcastle and, despite the opposition of their owner Louis Nicollin, could now be convinced to move to the North East.

The loss of Cabaye will also be felt by Newcastle supporters who had recognised the influence of the France international in a new role in the side.

His decision to go on strike on the eve of the new season was misguided to say the least, but he recovered his relationship with supporters who regularly sang his name with the best form of his Newcastle career.

Rumours of PSG’s interest may have surfaced before their game at West Ham a fortnight ago, but Cabaye scored two at Upton Park in arguably one of his best performances of the season.

New team-mates? Cabaye could be providing the ammunition for Edinson Cavani (left) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Ashley’s decision to sell one of his favourite players comes down to business and nearly £20million profit for a 28-year-old is too good to turn down. But it is derby week. The timing could be better.

Unlike the sale of Andy Carroll, which led to the signing of Shefki Kuqi, Newcastle have time to find a replacement.