Last year, Hatem Ben Arfa was unable to play football for six months after going AWOL from Hull City and signing for Nantes, his third club in 12 months, meaning that he had to sit out the second half of the 2014/15 season as, having already played for Newcastle and Hull during the campaign, UEFA rules stating a player cannot represent more than two clubs in a single season reduced the France international to an extended period on the sidelines.
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For a player who was once thought to be one of the brightest prospects in French football, the debacle was the latest in a long line of disappointments for the former Lyon prodigy. Then the 2015/16 season began and Ben Arfa exploded back to the peak of his powers, scoring outrageous goal after outrageous goal for Nantes and reminding us all of how phenomenal a talent he can be.
Ben Arfa's 18 goals in 35 games this season have shot him back into French national team reckoning and now could land him the dream move of a lifetime, perhaps the type of move many expected him to make 10 years ago, with Barcelona believed to be targeting the 29-year-old on a free transfer at the end of the season, with his Nantes contract expiring in the Summer.
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L'Equipe are reporting that Barca have tracked Ben Arfa for months and talks to bring him to the Camp Nou are at 'an advanced stage'.
(H/T 101 Great Goals)
