Revealed: The Man Utd star who ‘desperately’ wanted to join Newcastle
Robin Bairner
- 26 Feb 2022 07:22 CST
- 3 min read
Newcastle were one of the most active teams in the January transfer window, but they did not make as many signings as they might have wished.
Indeed, director Amada Staveley has opened up on exactly what went on at St James’ Park during the window and claims that there were players who were “desperate” to join the club who missed out.
Among those players who they came close to capturing were and up-and-coming Ligue 1 star and a Manchester United player who has been frustrated with his lack of opportunities at Old Trafford this season.
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Why Newcastle did not make more signings
Opening up on the subject to The Athletic, Staveley explained why more business was not done.
“We were 19th going into the window. So we had that, an illiquid market, and the complexity of Covid-19, which meant clubs didn’t want to sell because they didn’t know where their squads would end up,” she said.
"We had to encourage players – ‘we’ll be a safe place for you, we’ll deliver and grow.’
“Some desperately wanted to come to us, like Sven Botman, who still does very much and has talked very openly about that.
“Coming through all that showed us we can do it, that we can stick to our plan and if we get criticised on the last day for: ‘Oh, you’re going after Jesse [Lingard].’ Well, Jesse wanted to come to us.
“We did everything. We never stopped. From the start to the finish, we did not stop working.”
What next for Newcastle?
Judging by Staveley’s words, Newcastle could very well pursue both of these deals in the summer. Lingard will be a free agent as he will likely leave Manchester United when his contract expires, while Botman is likely to be allowed to depart Lille after two strong seasons with the Ligue 1 champions, who signed him from Ajax.
