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Newcastle blow as Palace refuse to sell Townsend

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Image for Newcastle blow as Palace refuse to sell Townsend

Newcastle United have suffered a transfer blow with Crystal Palace refusing to sell Andros Townsend, according to a trusted journalist.

Reputable journalist Alan Nixon has revealed in an exchange on his personal Twitter account that Palace won’t sell Townsend at the moment, which is holding up the potential sale of Newcastle winger Matt Ritchie.

As reported by the Chronicle Live, Ritchie is being targeted by Championship side Stoke City and have already had a £15million bid turned down.

It is understood that 26-year-old Townsend is one of Rafael Benitez’s prime targets to replace the Scot, should he leave.

The rapid winger left Benitez’s side for Selhurst Park in July 2016 when the Toon were relegated to the Championship, but the Spaniard is keen to bring him back to St. James Park. Chelsea winger Kenedy is also said to be a target for the Magpies.

OPINION

This is a spanner in the works for Rafael Benitez’s summer transfer plans. If he can’t persuade Crystal Palace to sell Andros Townsend for a suitable fee, he may be stuck with a player who wants to leave and that’s not good for either party. However, there are other players out there who could potentially replace Matt Ritchie, but it looks like Benitez only has Townsend in his sights for now. The only problem for both clubs is that this has now started a ripple effect, because the Scotland international can’t be sold until a replacement is found, but Roy Hodgson presumably won’t want to sell 26-year-old Townsend before he also finds a replacement of his own. Both Ritchie and Townsend may have to sit and wait because until a Plan B is found for the Englishman, the deal won’t be able to move forward.

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