Newcastle United are ready to end their interest in Andros Townsend, according to reports, after refusing to meet the asking price for his signature.
Steve McClaren is eager to introduce a core of young English players into his squad, and although he missed out on Charlie Austin who left Queens Park Rangers for Southampton, he did manage to take Jonjo Shelvey from Swansea City in a £12million deal. He had also hoped to land Townsend this month, but it now appears as this deal is almost certainly dead.
The England international has fallen down the pecking order at Tottenham Hotspur, who are prepared to let him leave before the window closes. Ideally, McClaren wanted the winger on loan for the remainder of the season with the view to a summer deal, but with the capital club only willing to offload him permanently, an offer of £10million was tabled last week.
But Daniel Levy is holding out for £14million for the 24-year-old, who knows he must find regular first team football if he is to feature for Roy Hodgson’s side at Euro 2016. According to The Guardian, this is a price Newcastle are unwilling to meet, and will therefore turn their attention to £9million-rated Barcelona forward Sandro Ramirez who is also wanted, ironically, by Spurs.
It has also been widely reported that McClaren has made enquiries over the availability of QPR’s £4million-rated winger Matt Phillips, who impressed in the Premier League last season despite the Loftus Road club being relegated. Another option is Aston Villa’s Scott Sinclair, who is also believed to be a target for his former club Swansea City ahead of the deadline.
