The French international was bound for St James' Park last month after Marseille accepted an £8m bid, but Queens Park Rangers pipped the Magpies after making a huge cash offer.
They offered £80,000-a-week to the striker.
Derek Llambias: “It is like everything else, we do not really want to break our policies.
“If you do not want to come here and play then it is your choice.
“He made the decision, so there you go. What can I say?
“We put our work in, we lost it and we moved on.
“Unfortunately he is now injured, but he has had a season of injuries.
“Sometimes you have to take that risk because you might not get value in a player.
“They can rejuvenate themselves when they come here.
“I would not criticise what QPR have done. I would say they have good people behind it and they are giving themselves a chance.
“The same thing could be said at Villa, it is different for them, they are taking a gamble on the opposite side.
“They are saying ‘We have a decent squad, can they keep us up?’That is a gamble too.
“Only a week ago, we were three points away from those guys.
“Are Mike and I taking a gamble by bringing everything forward?
“No, it is what we felt we needed to do.
“I would not want to criticise the passion QPR owner Tony Fernandez has, he is very communicative and has a flair and understanding of what the fans want and what he wants for the good of the club.”