The Belgian ace was heavily linked with a move to Newcastle United during the summer transfer window.
One of the Magpies’ primary summer transfer targets Dennis Praet shared why a proposed move to St James’ Park failed to materialise, during an exclusive interview with Belgian news outlet Humo.
Rafa Benitez was ready to activate the 23-year-old’s €25 million (£21.8 million) release clause in the summer, according to the Chronicle, but was ultimately unsuccessful in his pursuit.
“I didn’t want to leave. I thought something would have changed here, I thought the manager would have given me a new role. I love this club and the president is a special person. He has a great approach with footballers and that’s a huge difference compared to Anderlecht. I know Sampdoria received some offers for me but I did not even talk with any other club as there was no agreement between them.”
Newcastle have begun their Premier League campaign with a mixed bag of results, with an even split of wins and losses in their first six outings.
And with the Toon’s problems in central midfield, the addition of Praet would surely have made a huge difference to the way in which they setup.
Newcastle fans shouldn’t be too disheartened, however, with the Sampdoria ace refusing to rule out a move to the Premier League in the future:
“I’ve never played in the Premier League but I’d be happy to go there one day.”
And with the January transfer window just a few months away, the Tyneside outfit could very well go back in for Praet, as Benitez looks to continue his rebuild at Newcastle.
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