Newcastle United are having a roller coaster ride in the Championship this season and you can’t help but imagine that the title race will boil down to the Magpies and Brighton & Hove Albion. The two are overtaking each other every other week now and Brighton definitely hold the upper hand having played a game less.
The recent defeat suffered by Brighton against Preston North End has yet again helped Newcastle United climb to the summit of the Championship table and Rafa Benitez is looking to add more reinforcements in the transfer window to capitalise on the slim lead they have gathered now.
And guess what, Benitez is reportedly willing to bring back former Newcastle United player Andros Townsend. He moved to Selhurst Park last summer for a fee of 15.6 million euros and his move hasn’t worked as expected.
While under the reign of Alan Pardew, Townsend suffered due to the lack of first team chances after voicing his willingness to play on the right flank. Pardew dropped him to the bench then and under manager Sam Allardyce, nothing seems to have changed. Although his position is in danger at Crystal Palace, he left Newcastle United on a good note and shares an amicable relationship with their Rafa.
After leaving Newcastle, he had expressed about his good time there. He said, “I really enjoyed my time at Newcastle, I make no secret of that. It did cross my mind to stay but I need to be playing Premier League football if I want to make the most of my career.”
Although Townsend claims that he is happy at Selhurst Park with his current state, he has managed to score just once and provide two assists in 20 appearances for the Eagles so far. And given the poor run of form of the club, Allardyce is planning some major changes soon.
A Tottenham Hotspur youth product, Townsend’s career has seen him spending short stints, whether loan stay or permanent moves in many clubs, which include Yeovil Town, Leyton Orient, MK Dons, Ipswich Town, Watford, Millwall, Leeds, Birmingham City, QPR and Newcastle United before he joined Palace.
The England international undoubtedly has impressive abilities up front. He has completed 306 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 78%, of which 72% were forward passes. He wins 59% of his average duels and at 181cm, could also be a decent aerial threat.
However, even if he moves to the Magpies, who are more or less gaining promotion next season, Benitez has Matt Ritchie on the right flank who has scored 4 goals and racked up 6 assists. It would be a tough competition for Townsend.
