According to Brown, Newcastle wanted to sign the Scotland midfielder.
Celtic captain Scott Brown admitted to the Daily Record over the weekend that Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur wanted to sign while Tony Mowbray was in charge.
Brown, 33, said that during Mowbray’s short spell in charge at Celtic between July 2009 and March 2010, that he was told by the now-Blackburn Rovers manager to leave the Hoops in January – two years after joining Celtic for £4.4m (Guardian).
Instead, Brown remained and Mowbray was sacked two months later. Former Hibernian star Brown has gone on to win the last seven Scottish Premiership titles with the Hoops, becoming somewhat of a legend at the club.
Brown said: “It hit me like a hammer when he [Mowbray] told me to find a new club. I didn’t want to leave. I had to get back on the phone and tell people I think I might be free to leave in January.
“I had an offer from Newcastle. There had been also interest from Harry Redknapp at Spurs and I was waiting to find out if he was still wanting to do something. So I’m sitting there thinking if I should go or not.”
But Brown remained and is now set to reach an incredible tally of 500 appearances for Celtic this season, currently sitting on 479 after Friday’s 0-0 draw against newly-promoted St. Mirren.
Newcastle, who are struggling in the Premier League after a difficult start to the campaign, have suffered 2-1 losses to Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Man City, as well as drawing to Cardiff City.
Some of their fans reacted to Brown’s comments on Twitter, with the majority of the belief that missing out on Brown is a bullet dodged as they do not believe he would add much to the side.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
