It is almost three years since Henri Saivet scored his only goal in the black-and-white of Newcastle United.
The Senegalese international was handed a rare start by former boss Rafa Benitez for the trip to West Ham United on December 23, 2017.
A sloppy backpass from Saivet led to West Ham's early opener, but the midfielder made amends just four minutes later with a spectacular free-kick. It remains the former Bordeaux captain's last competitive appearance for the Magpies.
Saivet has played a mere 232 league minutes since signing for United in January 2016, and only three of his eight appearances have been in the starting eleven.
Loan spells at Turkish outfits Sivasspor and Bursaspor have failed to result in permanent moves, and head coach Steve Bruce recently expressed his hope at securing a transfer for the 29-year-old in this window.
Bruce told reporters in August: "He is a really good professional.
"But I think it is fair to say that we need to go and find him a club. He's not played for a long, long time for this club.
"I feel for the lad because it's not his fault, unfortunately. He trains everyday and he's a really good pro.
"We hope we can get him fixed up over the next few weeks."
Yet heading into his fifth season on Tyneside, Saivet remains on the club's books and has been handed a squad number ahead of the new campaign.
The Magpies face West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday evening, and the bookmakers are offering bets on Saivet despite his lengthy absence from the first-team picture.
For any optimistic fans, SkyBet are offering odds of 5/1 on the 29-year-old scoring at any time in the capital, or 12/1 on the midfielder bagging the first and last goal.
William Hill are offering punters 12/1 on Saivet being the first or last goalscorer - the same odds as Miguel Almiron - while offering 9/2 on the midfielder scoring anytime.
However, other bookmakers such as Bet365 do not include Saivet in their list of potential goalscorers at the London Stadium on Saturday.
