Andros Townsend has opened up on his time at Newcastle.
Crystal Palace’s Andros Townsend
Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend has told The Mirror that playing for Newcastle was the first time in his career that he felt loved.
Townsend, 24, joined Newcastle from Tottenham Hotspur back in January of this year, and starred for the Magpies with four goals and two assists in just 13 appearances.
However, those exploits couldn’t prevent Newcastle from being relegated to the Premier League, and Townsend was unsurprisingly one of the first players to receive interest from top flight clubs.
England’s Andros Townsend in action with Australia’s Matt McKay
It was Crystal Palace who snapped Townsend up, and he’s made a decent start to life at Selhurst Park, and his performances have led to a recall to the England side ahead of their games against Malta and Slovenia.
With the winger currently preparing for those games, he has spoken to The Mirror about his time at Newcastle, and his relationship with Magpies boss Rafael Benitez.
Andros Townsend at Newcastle
Townsend has claimed that playing for Newcastle was the first time he has ever felt loved in his career, as the St. James’ Park faithful were great with him, and handed him a standing ovation on the final day of last season.
He added that it was subsequently difficult to leave Tyneside, but knew he had to return to the Premier League for the sake of his international career.
Townsend also admitted that he received a text from Benitez after being recalled by England, and he continues to have a great rapport with the Spaniard, who made him ‘a better player’.
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez celebrates with Andros Townsend
“It was the first time in my career I actually did feel loved, and it did feel right,” said Townsend. “The fans were great with me. Everyone loved me, on the last game of the season against Spurs, the standing ovation I got was incredible. It made the hair on my arms stand up.”
“It was extremely difficult to leave that, but football is a short career and sometimes you use your head as opposed to your heart. It was a factor – the fact Roy left as well. I knew that if I wanted to get back in the England squad, I need to be on the biggest stage of all.”
“He texted to congratulate me on my England call-up. He understood and all is well there. He’s fantastic, especially for me at the time. When he came in, I was injured for a bit, I was struggling a bit. But from day one he put his faith in me, said he believed in me, that he wanted to help me progress my career, score goals and assist goals. I became a better player under him,” he added.
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