OPINION
Fulham made signing Joe Bryan from Bristol City look easy whereas when Newcastle United were pursuing the defender it looked like hard work.
The Premier League new boys confirmed via their website that they had successfully signed the speedy left-back on Transfer Deadline Day after hijacking his move to Aston Villa just the day before.
The Independent reported that Bryan was all set to complete a £6million move to the Championship side but then Fulham rang offering him a better deal and Premier League football.
This caused the left-sided flyer to completely change his mind about joining the Villans and swiftly rush through a move to the Cottagers in order to get a deal done.
The Cottagers successfully got a deal over the line despite only seemingly making their first move for a mere 24-hours before.
It made signing Bryan look like an incredible easy task and the Magpies’ pursuit of the defender earlier in the window seem to drag on before amounting to nothing, making Rafa Benitez’s side failure to get him even worse.
The Chronicle Live Transfer Blog on Monday July 23 (18:39) shared that the Magpies were keen to recruit Bryan with the player eager to join if a deal was possible.
However the same updated shared that as the Magpies were restricted to wheeling and dealing in order to get business done then an offer hadn’t at that time been submitted for his services.
Given that the Independent’s report shares that Bristol City were letting the very talented Bryan go for just £6million then it makes the Magpies failure to get a deal done even more disappointing.
Benitez’s side appeared to be one of the first Premier League teams in for Bryan and could easily have wrapped up a deal that would have improved their squad for bargain price.
Yet instead the Magpies made it look difficult to pursue Bryan and ended not getting their man.
