Former Newcastle winger Andros Townsend has insisted that he had wished to remain with the club but was forced to leave after they were relegated from the Premier League.
Rafa Benitez had attempted to keep the 25-year-old at St James Park last summer but eventually decided to sell after Crystal Palace had bid £13 million for his services, which was his release clause.
During an interview with The Telegraph, Townsend said, “I was at Tottenham and I’ve had all the loan spells and then I went to Newcastle and said ‘I want to stay here for a few years’ but unfortunately that didn’t work out and I had to move to stay in the Premier League.’”
Townsend once again finds himself in a relegation scrap with Crystal Palace this season. His side will be confident of avoiding the drop as they are managed by Sam Allardyce, who has established a reputation for himself with regards to saving teams from relegation.
