MAPOU Yanga-Mbiwa’s decision to end a frustrating spell at Newcastle United was rewarded with a recall to the France squad yesterday.

The 25-year-old lost his way on Tyneside after arriving as one of the hottest defensive prospects in Europe when he led Montpellier to promotion in 2009 and the Ligue 1 title.

But Yanga-Mbiwa never really settled in to life at Newcastle following his £6.7m switch in January 2013 and dropped out of contention for a place in the French squad.

Less than six weeks after leaving for Roma on a season-long loan, however, the central defender was called up by Les Bleus head coach Didier Deschamps to replace the injured Laurent Koscielny for the international friendlies with Portugal on Saturday and Armenia on Tuesday.

Yanga-Mbiwa, who was unable to hold down a permanent place in the Newcastle team under Alan Pardew after inconsistent displays, has since headed to Italy and quickly recaptured his best.

He said: “The goal of every player is to wear the jersey of the national team, especially when I have played for the national team before. I’ve always kept hope, myself confidence and been aware of my capabilities.”

The last of his three caps for France arrived under Laurent Blanc in September 2012 shortly after missing out on the Europeans Championship squad in that summer.

But he has always been regarded as a defender with enormous potential in his homeland, where he spent a lot of his youth playing at the reputable Clairefontaine academy.

Yanga-Mbiwa has already represented Roma in the Champions League and the Serie A club are already interested in taking up the option of making the £1m season-long loan a permanent arrangement for a reputed £4.5m.

Ironically the news arrives at a time when Newcastle are struggling for defensive cover with both Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson struggling to find consistency at the heart of the defence. Steven Taylor remains out of favour.

Pardew, who remains under pressure to turn things around at St James’ Park, has given young defender Remie Streete permission to leave on loan. The 19-year-old trained with Port Vale on Thursday morning and could face Yeovil on Saturday if the initial month long deal is confirmed in time.