Even non-EPL fans might have heard of Newcastle United Football Club. With a long history dating back decades, it’s become one of the most popular clubs in England and the entire United Kingdom.
Winners of the FA Cup and even English Premier League champions, the Magpies have plenty of star-caliber players in their ranks right now, including natives like the current captain Jamaal Lascelles or Callum Wilson, and many more.
However, a few foreign names have resonated with the fans over the years. However, there haven’t been many Americans that crossed paths with this club, the ones that did leave a legacy on the team.
DeAndre Yedlin
Though Yedlin is currently one of the defenders of Inter Miami, he was signed by Newcastle United for six years. The Miami native joined the Magpies in 2016 when he was 23 years old for five years, costing the club £5 million. You can find more about Inter Miami and US teams here.
Soon after he started in Newcastle, he debuted with his first goal against Derby County. He played in the Premier League four times with Newcastle, scoring two goals on his total 85 appearances through the years.
Even though his departure from the club shocked most fans because he had increased his minutes during his last season, the midfielder was let go on mutual agreement with the team in 2021.
Yedlin had a brief stint with Galatasaray and then signed with his current team, Inter Miami, for a four-year contract with the option of an additional year. When he was signed, he was almost a DP for the club since his previous performances had showcased that he was able to play at the top.
DeAndre has played for other MLS and Premier League. He made his pro debut with the Seattle Sounders FC, earning MLS Team of The Week honors in just his first week in the league. He was in Seattle from 2013 to 2014; this year, he was named to the MLS All-Star Team twice. That same year, he joined the USMNT to represent America in the FIFA World Cup.
Then, shortly after participating in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Yedlin’s EPL adventure began when he was transferred to Tottenham Hotspur. While playing for Tottenham, in 2015, he was loaned to Sunderland for a year before finally playing in Newcastle.
Oguchi Onyewu
Defender Oguchi Onyewu hopped on several international and American teams across his long career, including Newcastle United. He joined the English team as a loan in 2007, after spending some time loaned to Standard Liège while signing with Metz in France.
Onyewu spent only a season with Newcastle, and since he was signed in early 2007, he played the remainder of the 2006-2007 season. Still, he managed to have 11 appearances before the club decided not to make his joining permanent.
His career continued with a permanent position in Milan, where he participated in the Champions League. Onyewu played in Milan from 2009 to 2010, despite his three-year contract, as he was loaned to the Dutch team Twente and was later transferred to Sporting CP from Portugal.
Oguchi Onyewu retired in 2018 after the 2017 season ended, marking Philadelphia Union as his last team. Recently, he announced that he would be the vice president of sports in the U.S. Soccer Federation. He started this position in May 2023, but he was before the sporting director for Orlando City B and secretary-general of R.E. Virton.
Andy Parkinson
Though Andrew Parkinson was born in South Africa, he spent most of his life in the U.S. The senior footballer started his career in South Africa in Highlands Park, but when he tried out for Newcastle United in 1978, he joined the Magpies when he was 18 years old.
Soon after he was signed, he suffered an injury that caused him to stay off the field for some time during his first season.
Still, he remained on the team for two more seasons until he was let go of the club in 1979. Newcastle United was Parkinson’s first and only first-division club, and he struggled to find much success later in his career.
During the 1979-1980 season, Andrew Parkinson was part of the Peterborough United, but he then was transferred to America and joined Philadelphia Fury, where he participated in the North American Soccer League.
Parkinson was part of the U.S. national team as a midfielder in the 1984 edition of the World Cup; he later retired and lived with his family in Florida, where he worked for an automobile company.
Newcastle continues to emerge as one of the rising teams in the EPL right now, so hopefully, more USMNT teams will eventually join their ranks. These guys paved the way for more to come in the future, and Americans are no longer an afterthought in European teams, which is obviously great for the national team’s growth and development as well.
