Newcastle United's most expensive January signing during a mid-season trolley dash was a senior international on Arsenal's radar who had made his name in France. Sound familiar? Well, Bruno Guimaraes merely followed in the footsteps of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, who joined the club in remarkably similar circumstances nine years previously.
Unlike Bruno, of course, Yanga-Mbiwa did not become the toast of Tyneside but it is easy to forget what a coup the move was considered at the time after Newcastle paid just £6.7m for a defender who had captained Montpellier to the Ligue 1 title a few months previously. Was it any wonder, then, that the 23-year-old was earmarked as Newcastle skipper Fabricio Coloccini's long-term successor?
To fulfil that potential, however, Yanga-Mbiwa was not only going to have to adjust to the pace and physicality of the Premier League but, also, quickly settle into a new environment as the centre-back tested himself abroad for the first time as a footballer. That very first day at the training ground certainly gave Yanga-Mbiwa a taste of what was to come in January, 2013.
