Stoke City could hold the key to Newcastle United buying Crystal Palace’s Andros Townsend.
According to a report by Sky Sports, Newcastle United’s bid to sign Crystal Palace ace Andros Townsend is unlikely to go through without selling Matt Ritchie first. And Ritchie himself is said to be a target for Stoke City.
The report claims that Stoke are keen to sign the former Bournemouth winger, but they have yet to reach Newcastle’s valuation of the player with the Magpies looking to use the funds to sign Townsend.
Newcastle are said to want £15 million for Ritchie, while Crystal Palace are willing to allow Townsend to re-join the Magpies for £17 million – though one deal reportedly can’t happen without the other.
Stoke are intent on making an immediate return to the Premier League following their relegation to the Championship last season, and in Ritchie they see the ideal winger to help them achieve their goal. The experienced wide man already has two Championship promotions on his CV – with Bournemouth and Newcastle – and he represents a sound option for Gary Rowett’s side despite a hefty price-tag. Ritchie, 28, managed three goals and five assists for Newcastle last term, as Rafa Benitez’s men comfortably avoided relegation.
Benitez has briefly worked with Townsend at Newcastle before, and therefore knows all about his qualities, and it appears he has made the former Tottenham Hotspur man his number one winger target this summer.
A deal for Townsend could end up breaking the Magpies’ transfer record – which currently stands at £15 million – although in today’s financial climate that sort of figure for a quality winger is perfectly reasonable.
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