OPINION
Newcastle United must hesitant in their pursuit of Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend as the Magpies hierarchy reportedly suspect that their interest was leaked.
According to a report by The Telegraph that Magpies hierarchy were surprised that news of their interest in the Premier League winger was leaked to the media over the weekend and suspected that their name was being used to flush out potential buyers.
While the newspaper doesn’t state whether it was the player’s agent or the club that they believed to have shared their interest either way it should be a red flag.
If the Magpies truly think they’re being used to tempt another club to launch a bid for Townsend it shows that the player isn’t generating a lot of interest as it is.
It’s unclear why Palace would be willing to sell their 26-year-old winger as it is, due to the fact he was a regular member of their first-team last season as he made 39 appearances for them.
Townsend put in several displays and ended his latest campaign having scored two goals, while assisting nine, which isn’t exactly poor given that the London club were struggling in the Premier League at times.
Therefore perhaps the London club who get to work with Townsend on a daily basis suspect that he may be set for a less than stellar 2018/19 campaign for one reason or another.
However it’s more realistic that Palace are simply in need of funds and selling the winger would see money being brought into the club.
With The Sun reporting that Palace are discussing a £18million deal with the Magpies for the winger, an amount that seems inflated, it seems a lower offer could be enough to get him if they’re really determined to sell.
Townsend hasn’t had any other serious suitors linked to him as of yet and with the Magpies’ being suspicious that their interest has been leaked to see offers come flooding in, it suggests Palace maybe aware that they’re demanding too much for the player’s services.
This means the Magpies should hesitant before splashing the cash to get him as if Palace are willing to sell him as they need the funds then the Magpies should be able to get a better deal for themselves if no one else is willing to take the winger.
Normally the Magpies should be urged to act faster in the transfer market but on this occasion when it comes to their pursuit of Townsend they should hesitant and wait to see if Palace could lower their expectations regarding the player’s price.
As if there is someone leaking interest in Townsend to get other offers, it shows the Magpies may be the only possible realistic destination for him this summer which puts them in the driving seat for his services.
