‘Definitely’: 54-cap star admits he wanted to sign for Newcastle United

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Newcastle United never handed Glen Johnson his dream move to St James’ Park with the right-back shining elsewhere in the Premier League instead.

Former England international Glen Johnson has admitted to talkSPORT that he would have jumped at the chance to sign for Newcastle United during his storied playing career.

Unfortunately for a man who spent most of his career raiding down the right-hand side for Liverpool, Chelsea, Portsmouth and West Ham, the opportunity to pull on those famous black and white stripes never materialised.

The 35-year-old announced his retirement from the game last year and, despite earning 54 caps for the Three Lions while winning the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup, there is still a little something missing on Johnson’s CV.

“(Newcastle) were the first team I ever supported. I went to a tiny school in south London and my best mate in primary school was a Geordie. His old man was always wearing the Newcastle Brown Ale kit so I jumped on the bandwagon,” he explains. “It’s a great stadium the fans are super passionate. It’s a very passionate city.

“I didn’t really (come close to signing). It’s all about timing and availability and where people are in terms of playing levels, contracts or things like that.”

But when pressed by talkSPORT host Jim White (16 April, 11.30pm), Johnson admits that the opportunity to represent the Magpies might have been too good to turn down.

“Yeah definitely,” he adds.

You can guarantee that Johnson will be watching those current developments at St James’ Park with a great deal of interest, like the rest of us, with much-maligned owner Mike Ashley on the verge of selling this proud old club to a Saudi Arabian consortium for £300 million (BBC).

And while it’s far too early in proceedings to dream of a Premier League title challenge in the near future, Magpies supporters everywhere can at least expect to bid farewell to the days of mid-table mediocrity and incessant relegation battles.