Newcastle United have completed the signing of English winger Andros Townsend from Tottenham Hotspur.
The 24-year-old has signed a five-and-a-half year deal at St. James Park, for a reported transfer fee of £12m.
Townsend becomes Newcastle’s third signing of the January transfer window after Henri Saivet and Jonjo Shelvey, and should be in line to make his debut away at Everton on Wednesday evening.
Ahead of the confirmation, Townsend spoke of his excitement on the impending move:
“As soon as I knew of Newcastle’s interest they were the only club I wanted to join.
“I can’t wait to play my first game at St James’ Park, I am excited!
“Two of the biggest positions you can play in football are centre-forward or on the wing. I could not turn that down.”
Townsend joined Spurs at the age of 8. He was loaned out to several clubs during the early stages of his career, including the likes of Yeovil Town, Lleyton Orient and MK Dons.
On January 9, 2011, Townsend made his Spurs debut and marked it in some style by scoring in a man-of-the-match performance in a third round FA Cup tie against Charlton Athletic.
Townsend received his first senior national call-up in September 2013, for the World Cup qualifying clashes with Moldova and Ukraine.
He made his senior debut in the starting eleven against Montenegro on October 11. He scored the third in a 4-1 win and was named man of the match.
Townsend started the 2013/14 season as a first-team regular at Spurs, but of late has found his football restricted mostly to the cups and Europa League.
In November, Townsend was dropped altogether from the first team after an altercation with a coach at the club.
He has been a regular in Tottenham’s U21 side in order to maintain his match fitness.
Altogether, Townsend made 93 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions, scoring 10 goals.
Townsend’s signature could soon see Florian Thauvin return to Marseille.
The Frenchman has endured a frustrating spell on Tyneside, and talks are supposedly ongoing between the two clubs regarding his return.
