Andros Townsend attracting interest from Liverpool
Andros Townsend's Newcastle United release clause has caught the attention of scouts at Liverpool and Manchester City with both clubs weighing up whether to make a surprise bid for the winger.
Crystal Palace, Southampton and West Ham United have already shown a strong interest in Townsend, but the 24-year-old is prepared to wait to find out all his options before making a decision on his future.
Liverpool and City could be added to the list of Townsend’s possible destinations, particularly if they fail to land more expensive targets such as Saido Mane and Leroy Sane.
Despite missing out on Roy Hodgson’s final 23-man squad for the European Championships, former Tottenham Hotspur wide man Townsend has become one of the most sought-after English players of the summer.
His impressive form for Newcastle, together with a release clause in the region of £10.5million, has made him an attractive proposition for a host of clubs – including Liverpool and City.
Liverpool academy director Alex Inglethorpe knows Townsend well from his time on the coaching staff at Spurs and the player’s name has been put forward as a potential signing as the club weighs up a number of attacking targets.
Manager Jurgen Klopp is keen to add more pace to his attack and has already looked at Southampton’s Saido Mane, Schalke’s Leroy Sane and Arsenal’s Theo Walcott.
All three of those players would be far more expensive than Townsend. Southampton would demand at least £30m for Mane, while Manchester City are reported to have made a bid worth around £40m for Sane but face competition from Bayern Munich.
Schalke are due to discuss Sane’s situation on Wednesday, meaning City may well know whether or not they are likely to land the 20-year-old.
Bayern are believed to be willing to allow the player to stay at Schalke for another season before signing him next summer.
Other than Sane, City have looked at a number of English wide men including Arsenal duo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. While Oxlade-Chamberlain may be available, Walcott is willing to stay and fight for his place at Arsenal for at least another season despite the interest from Liverpool and City.
City want to boost their quota of home-grown players and, along with Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott, have identified Townsend as somebody who could do that and add pace to their squad.
Townsend already knows midfielder Fabian Delph well from the England set-up, but may be worried about spending too much time on the substitutes’ bench at City.
Having missed out on a place in manager Hodgson’s 23-man England squad after being included in the provisional 26-man party, Townsend went on holiday to clear his head and relax.
He is yet to discuss his future with Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez, but, despite all the interest in him, has not yet ruled out the possibility of staying at St James’ Park in the Championship.
Newcastle are desperate to keep Townsend and are willing to increase his £55,000-a-week wages if he turns his back on an instant return to the Premier League.
Townsend scored four goals in 13 Premier League appearances for Newcastle after joining the club for £12m from Tottenham in January and almost helped to keep Benitez’s side up.
He has made 11 England appearances, but missed out on a trip to the Euros after Hodgson decided to take teenager Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling to France. Sterling’s poor form at the Euros has only underlined theories that Townsend would have offered Hodgson a better option from the substitutes’ bench.
Source: The Telegraph
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