Alan Shearer has claimed that Newcastle United decided against signing Tammy Abraham and Javier Hernandez during the summer transfer window, despite being close to landing the two players.
Former Manchester United striker Hernandez did make a return to the Premier League from Bayer Leverkusen with West Ham.
Abraham who signed a five year deal with Chelsea in July meanwhile ended up moving on loan to Swansea in order to gain more experience at the highest level and continue his development as a player.
Newcastle were interested in signing the duo during the summer and both have since gone on to score four goals each in the top flight so far this season.
The Magpies ended up signing Joselu instead who is joint top scorer for the club so far this season along with Dwight Gayle on three goals.
“I think he’s definitely got the vast majority of the backing from the Newcastle fans. Newcastle, with the current owner, is a very, very difficult club to manage and we’ve witnessed that in the past,” Shearer told BBC Match of the Day, as quoted by the Newcastle Chronicle.
“He wanted to bring players in – I know he had Javier Hernandez and Tammy Abraham ready to come in, those deals were pulled at the last minute, which is why he had to spend £5m on Joselu to bring another body in.
“But if you have a look at the money that he has made Newcastle in the 12 months he has been there, he has made them £12m nearly in profits and transfers.
“So he’s doing a very, very good job – it was always going to be a struggle, and if new owners are to take over, then there is no doubt they want him also, which is great news,” Shearer added.
