Speaking to The Daily Mail, ex-Newcastle scout Graham Carr has revealed that five world-class players were on the club’s radar, but the moves never materialised.
When asked which players got away, the father of famous comedian Alan Carr said: ‘If the club were honest and went through the records… Hakim Ziyech, Wilfred Ndidi, James Maddison.
‘I saw Raphael Varane play for Lens when he was 17 and I called Derek Llambias (managing director) that night. You get excited when you spot one.
‘Mike and I went to Saint-Etienne to watch (Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang. Mike just said, ‘Who am I watching?’ You recommend them, but then you just don’t know what happens sometimes.’
If the Magpies even managed to land a couple of those players, their fortunes could have looked very different during Carr’s seven-year stint at the club.
Aubameyang is now one of Europe’s best strikers, having netted 72 goals in 112 games for the Gunners. Before that, the forward scored 141 goals in 213 outings for Borussia Dortmund.
Elsewhere, Varane is now a World Cup winning centre-back playing for Real Madrid, while Maddison and Ndidi were central to Leicester’s push for the Champions League last term.
In Ziyech’s case, Chelsea have recently signed him for £37.4 million.
While Carr’s revelation may come as a kick to the gut for Newcastle supporters, many other gems did at least arrive during the 75-year-old’s tenure.
It was him who landed Papiss Cisse, Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa, Cheick Tiote, Moussa Sissoko, Georginio Wijnaldum and Mathieu Debuchy.
It is fair to say Carr had an eye for a player.
Those he did get over the line such as Ba, Cisse, Cabaye and Ben Arfa all played a crucial role as Alan Pardew’s Newcastle finished just four points off the Champions League in 2011/12.
However, who knows what the Magpies would have achieved had some of those world-class players arrived at St James’ Park.
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