The West Bromwich Albion winger has eight assists this season and would have been the ideal addition to Newcastle United’s attack.
Andros Townsend did his level best to keep Newcastle United in the Premier League last season, netting a stunning free-kick winner against Crystal Palace which gave the Magpies a lifeline they squandered just a week later with a goalless draw with Aston Villa.
After the England international departed for Crystal Palace almost as soon as relegation was confirmed, you wonder how different things could have been if they had signed Matt Phillips instead, as reported by The Telegraph.
The publication claims that Newcastle had identified the former QPR winger as a backup option if they were unable to tempt Townsend to St James’ Park. These days, the Scotland international is flying down the flanks for West Brom, inspiring Tony Pulis’s side to their best ever Premier League campaign.
Townsend, meanwhile, is flattering to deceive at Crystal Palace.
At just £5.5 million, as reported by Sky Sports, Phillips has been one of the top flight’s most astute additions this season with only the much-vaunted quartet of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Christian Eriksen, Kevin De Bruyne and Alexis Sanchez managing more than his eight assists.
And, in short, he is exactly the player Newcastle United are currently crying out for. While Matt Ritchie’s industry has made him a huge hit on Tyneside, the Magpies are lacking the same quality on the left hand side.
Furthermore, Yoan Gouffran is set to depart when his contract expires at the end of the season while Christian Atsu appears likely to return to parent club Chelsea.
Therefore, although Phillips may not have prevented Newcastle from tumbling into the second tier, he may have offered that spark of quality to ensure they could make the transition back into the top flight next season.
Newcastle’s loss, however, is very much West Brom’s gain.
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