Newcastle United were linked with a move for Jon Walters in the summer before he ultimately moved to Burnley.
Rafa Benitez’s frustrations over Newcastle’s apparent inability to land potential transfer targets was seemingly one of the main narratives that played out at St James’ Park during the summer window.
While Benitez may perhaps feel that some of his targets may have helped make the Magpies’ bright start to the season even better, one target’s unfortunate news should perhaps leave Benitez feeling glad that a deal never took place.
The Telegraph reported back in April that Newcastle were competing with Burnley for Jon Walters’ signature – with the Clarets ultimately winning the race, with BBC Sport reporting that they spent £3 million on bringing him to Turf Moor in July.
Walters’ time with Burnley however, has not exactly gone to plan with the Republic of Ireland international so far only making two substitute appearances for Sean Dyche’s men in the Premier League, with no goals coming during that time.
And now Sky Sports are reporting that Walters will now be missing until Christmas at the earliest due to a recurring knee injury that has previously required two operations in the past 18 months.
Given that Walters is now 34, any long-term injury is arguably a much more significant blow than it would be for a player much younger as he is now reaching the twilight of his career.
And unfortunately, this setback for the forward has vindicated Newcastle’s decision to seemingly not follow up their reported interest.
And with the problem being one that he has had to contend with frequently over the last couple of years, there are bound to be question marks over whether he will ever be able to prove to Newcastle that they should have offered the £3 million that may have got a deal across the line.
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