Paris Saint Germain director Leonardo is hopeful that Newcastle United midfielder Yohan Cabaye amongst others can be lured back to French football.

Cabaye left Lille in the summer of 2011, subsequently joining the Magpies, and has since enjoyed an impressive career in the Premier League.

France has endured a recent exodus of Ligue 1's finest players, and despite Eden Hazard being among those to leave last summer, PSG themselves were able to attract Zlatan Ibrahimovic from AC Milan.

And Leonardo predicts that with French football on the rise again, the likes of Cabaye could soon return to their homeland.

Yohan Cabaye
Cabaye has enjoyed a fruitful spell at Newcastle

Leonardo told Gazzetta dello Sport. "A lot of players would like to come to PSG and I cannot rule out big-money signings, but only if the chance is there.

"The landscape in football is changing. That's one of the reasons why guys like [Eden] Hazard and [Olivier] Giroud have left [Ligue 1]. But I like the idea of luring great French players back,"

"I am not talking about [Karim] Benzema, but about players such as Nasri, Ribery and Cabaye. I don't know whether it's realistic, though, as I have not had contact with any of them."

Cabaye has proven himself to be a worthy addition at Newcastle, and should Fabricio Coloccini leave the club at the end of the season, could be handed the captaincy on a permanent basis for the new campaign at St James' Park.

The 27 year old inspired Newcastle into the Europa League last season after a fifth place finish in the Premier League, however this term has seen a change in fortunes, with Cabaye having spent time on the side-lines through injury, while the Toon slipped into a relegation battle.

Newcastle themselves have been guilty of snatching the best players from across the English channel, having bought five Frenchman during the January transfer window, including Yohan Gouffran and Moussa Sissoko.

PSG have meanwhile led a renewed French assault on the Champions League this season, 20 years after the last winner to hail from the country in Marseille, with Carlo Ancelotti having guided his side to the quarter finals where they were knocked-out by Barcelona.