Roy Hodgson has responded to rumours linking Andros Townsend with a return to St James’ Park this summer, insisting that the Crystal Palace winger is not for sale.
It has been made clear that Rafa Benitez is keen to have the 26-year-old back at Newcastle this summer, with him even considering cashing in on Matt Ritchie in a bid to make it happen, however it’s looking unlikely if Hodgson’s comments here are anything to go by.
Sky claimed that Palace would be open to selling Townsend for £17m if they found a replacement, but this perhaps proves that a deal may be a lot more unlikely than we first thought.
Here’s what Hodgson’s had to say today:
“There can be as much speculation as you like, and (Andros) Townsend is in a similar situation – he has got three years on his contract, and we have no interest at all in selling Andros Townsend.
“I am not surprised that other clubs would be interested, and there are players at other clubs who aren’t for sale that I wouldn’t mind, but we are not selling players.”
Things can change and Palace may be more open to selling if they do complete a deal to sign Michail Antonio from West Ham – a player who operates in Townsend’s position – however it sounds like there’s a long way to go if we want to get this one done.
Ritchie would have to be sold to raise funds and Palace would have to change their tune massively on Townsend.
May it be best to forget this one and focus on deals for new strikers?
