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Ben Arfa admits dream of playing for PSG

Hatem Ben Arfa would love to play for PSG, the club he supported as a child © PA Photos

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Newcastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa has admitted that it would be a 'childhood dream' to sign for French side Paris St Germain.

Ben Arfa, who is currently in France as he recovers from a hamstring injury, grew up following the Paris club - and has admitted that a return to Ligue 1 with the Champions League side would be a very attractive opportunity.

However, the former Lyon and Marseille playmaker has pledged not to leave the Magpies until after helping them avoid relegation this season.

"I am under contract with Newcastle and I'm fine," Ben Arfa said, in an interview with Le Parisien. "First, I must save my club. I only think of that. Help my team and my coach, with whom I get along great. We really want to fight for him.

"The fans are great too. Once we have saved the club, you never know. To sign for PSG would be a childhood dream. If there is a proposal, I will study it with interest.

"If there is a proposal. The 'if' is important."

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is looking to strengthen his squad in the transfer window to ensure the side do not get drawn into a relegation battle, although his plans have been disrupted somewhat by key defender Fabrizio Coloccini's surprise declaration that he wishes to depart.

Amid the uncertainty, Ben Arfa hopes he will be back within a month to bolster his side's options.

"I should be able to resume [playing] in mid-February," he said. "I rehabilitate from Monday to Friday at the medical center at Clairefontaine. Morale is good because I'm in Paris and with family.

"But when I see the games on television, it is not easy. The team needs all its players."

Ben Arfa has a reputation in his home country of being a talented but high-maintenance player after coming through the ranks at Lyon with the likes of Karim Benzema and Loic Remy, who is poised to move to Newcastle from Marseille.

However, the France international insisted the French football public would be pleasantly surprised if he were to move to the Parc des Princes.

"You have to be ready to play for PSG," he said. "You have to go there with a certain experience, having overcome a number of obstacles.

"When I was younger, it would have been difficult for me to join them. PSG is a dangerous club if you're not ready. Now I have more maturity."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.