Sky reveal how Liverpool, Stoke, West Ham & Palace will make or break Townsend's NUFC return
Rafa Benitez wants Andros Townsend back at Newcastle this summer and it's now become clear just what needs to happen to make the move a reality - with Liverpool, West Ham, Stoke AND Crystal Palace all having a huge part to play.
It's a bit of a complex one, highlighting the complexity of modern days deals, but it all makes a lot of sense..
Based on what we've just heard on Sky Sports, here's a step by step explanation of how things could be set to pan out, showing just how moves from West Ham, Palace, Stoke and Liverpool will make or break a potential deal for NUFC:
https://twitter.com/PeteGravesSky/status/1017704903798611969
- Shaqiri (Stoke) is on his way to Liverpool - who have activated his £13.5m release clause
- This will hand Stoke additional funds - and they're expected to use those to lodge a fresh bid for Ritchie
- We'll only sell Ritchie if we get Townsend - but Palace will only sell him if they get a replacement in first.
- Palace are targeting West Ham's Antonio as a result, with him set to be sold now Pellegrini's signed Yarmalenko.
- If they land Antonio, Townsend will be made available - but we'll only buy if Stoke pay up for Matt Ritchie.
So, in essence, the following deals could occur in a bit of a transfer merry-go-round that allows us to sign Townsend:
Shaqiri to Liverpool (£13.5m)
Antonio to Crystal Palace (£15m)
Ritchie to Stoke (£15m)
Townsend to Newcastle (£17m)
https://twitter.com/NewcastleGoals/status/1017542378213781504
It makes sense, but transfer deals rarely work as smoothly as the above suggests - and this highlights just how complex some deals are in the modern days market.
