Graham Carr scouted many French stars during his time at Newcastle United - and didn't get many wrong. Even some of those who have flopped went on to be huge hits elsewhere.

Carr's forays into Ligue 1 were legendary. During the Mike Ashley regime, Newcastle brought classy players such as Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa and Matthieu Debuchy to Tyneside. Moussa Sissoko became an instant hit and was eventually sold for £30million to Tottenham Hotspur nine years ago. It remains the fourth highest transfer fee United have received.

Some players weren't as much of a success. Yoan Gouffran struggled in the Premier League but was a Championship success, while the least said about Emmanuel Riviere and the better. Then there was Florian Thauvin. Gulp.

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One player who didn't hit the heights promised by his high-profile arrival was Remy Cabella. A marquee signing in 2014, the diminutive winger lasted just a season in the North East before heading back to France. It was a rare blip on the scouting front, but Cabella has since shown his enduring quality.

On Wednesday night, now aged 34, he scored the final goal in Lille's 6-1 hammering of hapless Feyenoord in the Champions League. Playing alongside Newcastle target Jonathan David, who was also on the scoresheet, Cabella's cameo was the icing on the cake for Lille on the last night of the group competition as they gatecrashed the top eight and secured an automatic route to the next stage.

Many years have passed since Cabella's brief spell on Tyneside. He signed a six-year deal after arriving from Montpellier, but within a year was back in Ligue 1 after a loan move to Marseille. A £12million capture which had excited fans but never worked out.

Not only was Cabella a gifted international with his best years ahead of him; the 24-year-old was a title winner and a talismanic figure who had just helped to keep struggling Montpellier in Ligue 1.

It was hardly a surprise, then, that Alan Pardew hailed Cabella as a 'marquee signing', who represented 'all what Newcastle fans love in a player: real flair, hard work and commitment'. Cabella had been a man in demand but after getting the inside track on Newcastle from compatriot Yohan Cabaye, the attacker did not have to think twice.

"Yohan told me it would be very nice for me and everything he said came true," Cabella remembered speaking to Chronicle Live a few years ago. "I loved the club and the people around it. The fans, the coach and everyone in Newcastle were very nice.

"St James' was also very beautiful. It was exciting to play there because the stadium is huge and all the fans had black-and-white shirts on. For me, that stadium was one of the best in England when I was there. It's different and, every game, the fans were there."

Cabella was soon spotted in a variety of locations across the North East, including Wilkos, of all places, in Cramlington, and the new signing was happy to pose for selfies 'because the supporters are the most important people at the club'.

Although Cabella had made his name at Montpellier in central areas of the pitch, the 5ft 7in midfielder ended up playing the majority of his football for Newcastle out wide. He admits he found it difficult adjusting to the pace and physicality of the Premier League as well as the style of Pardew's management.

"For me, the difference was the physicality," he said. "To play in England, you have to be strong. Sometimes you have players like Riyad Mahrez who don't need to be huge physically because they are 'big' players but, normally, you need to be physical.

"Every time the fitness coach would say, 'Remy, come with me!' Sometimes, we need to work and sometimes we need to rest to keep our energy and maybe I could have worked more in the gym. I love football but, maybe, I needed more physical work to be better."

Pardew left midway through the season and John Carver took over until the end of the campaign. It was a difficult few months on the pitch for the team as they slid towards the Premier League trapdoor, ultimately staying up following a final day win against West Ham, but Cabella was on his way to boyhood club Marseille a few months later. That loan spell was made permanent after Cabella triggered an appearance-based clause in his contract and following spells in his homeland with Marseille and Saint-Etienne, the Frenchman moved to Russian side Krasnodar in 2019.

Cabella helped Krasnodar reach the Champions League for the first time - even scoring against Chelsea - but after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, his contract was cancelled. Cabella returned to Montpellier before signing for Lille in the summer of 2022 on a free transfer.

His career continues to have an Indian summer with the French side. Playing as an attacking midfielder, he has produced some of the best football of his career as he helped Lille qualify for the Champions League. He has been providing the bullets for ace striker David, with a number of assists for the man who could be following in his footsteps with a move to St James' Park this summer. If he does, Cabella may just make the trip to watch him.

"One day I will come back to support Newcastle in the stands as a fan," he told Chronicle Live in 2021. "I'll never forget my experience at Newcastle. It's one year in my life I'll always remember."