NEWCASTLE UNITED are confident Hatem Ben Arfa will not return to St James' Park despite learning that FIFA have failed to give the official go-ahead for his move to Nice.

The controversial French playmaker signed an 18-month deal earlier this month with the French club after the Magpies granted him a free transfer following his fall out at St James’ Park.

But the 27-year-old has now learned from FIFA that he cannot play for Nice until next season because he has represented two clubs already this campaign – even though his outing for Newcastle was for the Under-21s.

Newcastle, however, are satisfied that he is no longer their player – they terminated the Frenchman's contract by mutual consent last month – and does not affect his departure from the Premier League, even though he was not due to become a free agent on Tyneside until the summer.

Nice, on the other hand, are believed to have had a clause stopping his playing contract from starting if FIFA took such a stance over his appearance for the Under-21s.

It is a real blow to Ben Arfa, who has already wasted the first half of the season by failing to convince either Alan Pardew, while he was in charge at Newcastle, and Hull City boss Steve Bruce, during a loan, to play him regularly.

His frustrations led to a move to Nice, where he expected to slot straight in to Claude Puel’s squad even though they were aware of the rule which states that a player is only permitted to play matches for two clubs; while allowing for registration with three.

Puel had said: “For us, his eligibility is not in doubt. The English federation wrote to the French federation and to FIFA explaining that the match played by Hatem did not count towards official competition. The advantages are with us and the player.”

Ben Arfa will now not, as previously expected, be able to make his Nice bow in Friday’s Ligue 1 fixture with Bordeaux. In fact, despite plans to appeal against the decision, he will not make his debut until next season as things stand.

The former France international, who has had run-ins with Newcastle, Lyon and Marseille during his career, will regret his outing for the Under-21s back in August. Just days before his departure to Hull on loan, he scored a fine solo goal in a 5-2 win over Reading in front of just 415 fans at Whitley Park.

While Pardew became frustrated with the enigmatic Frenchman, Newcastle’s next manager will not have the distraction of having to deal with such a talented but frustrating player.

Managing director Lee Charnley is understood to have drawn up a list of four main candidates for the job, with former Lyon boss Remi Garde thought to be the front-runner. With no official comments coming out of the club, however, caretaker manager John Carver is still expected to be in charge for Saturday’s visit of Southampton.

Real Madrid No 2 Paul Clement is the latest man to have ruled himself out of the running to succeed Pardew. Clement is happy to stay at the Bernabeu.

He said: “Newcastle are a fantastic football club and I’m very flattered to be linked with them. But I’m enjoying my experience in Madrid and I think it’s best for me to stay here in the near future, to gain more experience working with these great players at this great club.”

If Newcastle make an appointment after the visit of the Saints then the new boss could soon have Gabriel Obertan available for selection.

The French winger has not figured since pulling up with a thigh problem in the win over Liverpool in November but he has started running again at the club’s training ground.

His return to full training in the next couple of weeks will be a welcome return, along with nearly fit-again players such as Rolando Aarons, Mehdi Abeid and Siem De Jong.