Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew admits he was keen to offload Gabriel Obertan last season.
The Frenchman hit the winner for victory over Leicester City on Saturday.
Pardew said: "Let's just say that events last year when we weren't winning and he wasn't in the team were such that we might have listened to offers for him.
"But when he came back in pre-season and we'd assembled a new squad, I knew he could be part of it - I told him that. From the moment we set foot into pre-season I have been trying to build his confidence."
