Last month I looked at players who disappointed and failed to live up to the hype at Newcastle United, today I've selected a handful of players who left Tyneside far too soon for our liking:
Demba Ba:
Simply one of Newcastle United's greatest ever pieces of business. In the summer of 2011, Ba was stolen from then relegated West Ham for absolutely nothing! Sixteen goals for the Senegalese international in his first season, saw United finish a remarkable fifth in the Premier League, with Ba topping the scoring charts for the black and whites, despite the season being interrupted by the African Cup of Nations.
The following season, Ba picked up where he left off, scoring on the opening day of the season in a home win against Tottenham. Speculation began to grow during the first half of the 2012-13 season, with it then revealed that Ba had a release clause in his contract for just £7million; Ba left Newcastle in January 2013 for Rafa Benitez's Chelsea.
Ba was one of the best strikers Newcastle had in the modern era, but with his stay in the North-East lasting just eighteen months and an opportunity was missed to tie Ba down to a new long-term contract (where have we heard that one before?) saw the syrup loving Senegalese move on where his career petered out into journeyman like moves around Turkey and China. Had he stayed, Ba could well have been a Newcastle legend.
Andros Townsend:
Newcastle signed Townsend in January 2016, with Steve McClaren's side in deep trouble at the bottom of the league. The fee was a reported £12million, after Tottenham originally rejected Newcastle's approaches for an initial loan deal, with an option to buy (sound familiar?)
Townsend moved to Tyneside to play regular first team football in an attempt to get back into the England setup. Its fair to say the winger impressed in his short six month stint, with a series of man of the match performances.
As we all know, Newcastle were eventually relegated that season, as not even the genius of Rafa Benitez could keep United in the Premier League. Rafa desperately wanted Townsend to stay, as he saw the winger playing a crucial role in the rebuild process. But with Townsend still holding aspirations of international football, he felt a season in the second tier would leave his chances stagnant. Crystal Palace triggered a relegation release clause of £13million.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and with Townsend in and out of the Palace first team he failed to get back into the England squad. Despite TWO attempts by Rafa Benitez to bring Andros back to Tyneside, Palace wouldn't let the winger leave, which begs the question; Would Andros Townsend have been better off staying at Newcastle? I for one, think so.
Les Ferdinand:
1997 saw Kenny Dalglish's destruction of the entertainers. I could have easily chosen David Ginola in this list, but instead I've chosen "Sir" Les Ferdinand.
Ferdinand was one of the Newcastle's greatest number nines. Only a world record transfer fee for a club legend who turned out to become the clubs all time leading goalscorer, Alan Shearer, could take the number nine taken from Ferdinand's back.
Ferdinand moved to boyhood club Tottenham, at the same time Shearer suffered a serious long term injury, leaving United with pretty poor options up front. Not least due to some of Dalglish's questionable incoming tranfers, the aging Ian Rush, Stuart Pearce, and John Barnes spring to mind.
Ferdinand does hold legend like status on Tyneside, however had he stayed, there was every chance Les would have found himself in the top ten of all time leading Newcastle United goalscorers.
Florian Thauvin:
Perhaps an odd choice for some, considering Thauvin was pretty poor on the pitch during his time in Newcastle. He was best known not for what he did on the pitch in the black and white, but for wearing a tuxedo to matches.
My argument for Thauvin is simple. Like so many players for Newcastle United, it was the right club at the wrong time, and Thauvin falls into this. He was signed in the summer of 2015 when only 22 years of age, playing under Steve McClaren, an awful man-manager, who failed to get the best out of many players that season. Since he bought his short stint at Newcastle to an end, returning to Marseille, he has blossomed.
Now a regular in the French International setup, acquiring a World Cup winners medal along the way, Thauvin has been linked with the likes of Barcelona, and as he's still only 27, plenty of years are left in his prime. Who knows what could have been, if United had got rid of McClaren sooner, and persevered with Thauvin?
Salomon Rondon:
Finally, the most recent and obvious example, Salomon Rondon. This beast of a number nine played the lone striker role perfectly for Newcastle last season, and boy do we miss him!
Following West Bromich Albion's failure to achieve promotion at the first time of asking, Rondon was available with a release clause of just £16million, a bargain for a striker who scored over ten goals in our defensive system. The failure to snap up the towering Venezuelan was criminal, but his wage demands for what would be his last big contract put off not just Newcastle, but a number of Premier League suitors. Again hindsight is a wonderful thing, and if our beloved hierarchy could revisit last summer, you would like to think they wouldn't have allowed Rondon to leave for China. Then again, with the way the powers that be handle transfers and contracts at Newcastle United, it would be no surprise for something like this to happen again, and again, and again.
Any other examples I've missed? Get your comments in!