Newcastle United are reportedly in talks to secure a return for former winger Andros Townsend, and some fans have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment in the move.
As reported by The Sun, the Magpies are in discussions over an £18million deal for the 26-year-old, with Crystal Palace prepared to strike a deal to fund their summer spending.
The newspaper claim that Townsend is set to replace Matt Ritchie at the club, with the Scotland international winger set to join Stoke in a £15million deal.
The Northern Echo have also reported on a potential deal, claiming that the Magpies would have to pay at least £25million for Townsend as they entered advanced talks for the wide man.
A section of Newcastle fans have now taken to Twitter to express their unhappiness at such a deal, with Townsend not held in the highest regard on Tyneside following his short-lived first spell at St. James’ Park.
Nothing but Newcastle have rounded up some of the best tweets:
https://twitter.com/TheMackemSlayer/status/1013333128184647681
That would be a horrific deal. We sold him to Palace for peanuts, what’s he done since to warrant such a ridiculous price increase? Move on I say.
— Rory Mellon (@Rory_Mellon) July 1, 2018
They sell Ritchie we riot! 😂
— Stifler_999 (@Stifler__999) July 1, 2018
Hahahahahaha 25 million!!!! Absolute cods wallop
— James (@jamesdrob) July 1, 2018
Why the hell would u spend double the amount on a mercenary that's 2 years older and 2 years further on from his prime. Makes no sense
— Big Dave (@BigFukkinDave) July 1, 2018
Why any Newcastle fan would want @andros_townsend back astounds me. So much for ‘we only want players who want to play for Newcastle’, the guy couldn’t leave fast enough when we went down, we didn’t ask for a 10 year commitment from him, just 6-12 months which he owed us #NUFC https://t.co/ggmLfAgiOM
— Cal (@cal489) July 1, 2018
Talking about bloody Townsend AGAIN! Do people really think the club will pay £25 million him? Do people think they will pay £25 million for anyone? #NUFC
— Karl Muirhead (@KarlMuirhead) July 1, 2018
Why would the toon sell Ritchie to fund a bid for Townsend ? He is a Snake and jumped ship when we went doon…
— Chris D. (@ChrisDobey) July 1, 2018
If we were to spend 25mil on a player I'd rather it wasn't Townsend. Good player but you could get far better for that money.
— Connor (@ConnorNUFCrues) July 1, 2018
OPINION
It is hardly surprising to see that a large section of the Toon Army are less than enthused about seeing Townsend back in black and white stripes. The former Tottenham trainee ditched the club when they were relegated in 2015/16, just six months after joining. Fans have never really forgiven Townsend for that, and he would initially have some trouble in convincing them to support him once again if he does make a return. However, in footballing terms, many would surely understand bringing him back in. Ritchie is ageing and struggled to make an impact for large swathes of last season, and Townsend provides more pace and threat than the Scotland international.
