Ian Wright has declared that Newcastle is ‘an unbelievable place’ that targets will want to move to.
Troy Deeney previously claimed that Tyneside was ‘not a desirable place to go and live because you’re so far away from London’. The former Watford captain bizarrely suggested it was ‘difficult to get people there’ despite Newcastle United signing, among others, Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Sven Botman and Anthony Gordon, who have all spoken fondly of the area.
Wright, in contrast, struck a very different tone. The former Arsenal and England star hailed Newcastle as ‘such a vibrant, unbelievable place that you would want to go to’ and said it is ‘very attractive’ to players, particularly at a time when the Carabao Cup holders are pushing for a place in the Champions League.
“I look at Newcastle as a place where people will want to go there,” the Londoner told Premier League Productions. “There was a period [in the summer] where people were saying, ‘What’s happening with Eddie? Is he going to leave?’ But you need to sign for the club now.
“It’s quite disrespectful that people are saying, ‘Who’s going to buy Isak?’ I think they could probably keep Isak and bring the quality in like we saw with Tonali.
“I like the way it has switched around with Eddie because when Newcastle were taken over, I’m sure people thought a lot of money was going to be spent. It hasn’t worked like that and he’s built a really good team. Newcastle winning that trophy, playing like they’re playing and finishing with the momentum, I hope they do make it.”
Newcastle have the chance to leapfrog Nottingham Forest into third place by beating Crystal Palace in the Magpies’ game in hand at St James’ Park on Wednesday night as players and staff look to make absent boss Eddie Howe proud once again. Newcastle, in the process, could move five points clear of rivals Chelsea and open up a four-point gap on champions Manchester City.
