Santon set to stay and fight for his place

Santon welcomes competition Davide Santon has revealed that he is happy on Tyneside and would welcome any competition that our summer transfer dealings could bring in over the next couple of months.

In a frank interview with CalcioMercato, Santon also revealed that United rebuffed attempts from Roma who enquired about the availability of the former Inter Milan player last season.

All in all it's good stuff and I'm glad that Santon is relishing the competition that signing a new full back would create rather than looking for assurances over his role in the team. After a slow start to his Newcastle career he started to show his quality towards the end of last season and if he can continue to do that then he is right not to worry about competition as he'll be in the team anyway.

"Debuchy to Newcastle? I am calm," Santon told calciomercato.com.

"Pardew had told me that he had thought about playing me on the right, but also that another right-back would come.

"Debuchy or whoever is welcome, especially if it is a good player who can help the team. Then, we'll see who the coach decides to pick."

Good words from Santon there, but what about the interest from Roma?

"I know Roma are looking for a right-back and they showed interest in me some time ago, but Newcastle immediately refused to give me up," said Santon.

"That's okay for me because I have familiarised myself in England and I have no plans to move. I've only been here for a year and it is too early to pack up and come back to Italy."

Happy to stay and happy to fight for a place in the team. Can you ask for much more?

It's early days for Santon still, but I really think the lad can be a big player for us in years to come.

Do you agree?