‘It’s cold!’ - Jamie O’Hara trolls Newcastle United with lazy transfer theory
Newcastle United have missed out on several top transfer targets in the summer window so far.
Jamie O’Hara believes foreign players will choose London over Newcastle United “every time” while discussing the club’s transfer woes.
Toon chiefs have faced several snubs this summer, missing out on top targets like Joao Pedro and Hugo Ekitike. Chelsea and Liverpool have beaten Newcastle to the punch, although Anthony Elanga arrived from Nottingham Forest.
Eddie Howe has opened up about his frustration at only seeing one body come through the door. The Magpies remain focused on adding to their ranks before the Premier League campaign kicks off in just over three weeks.
Eddie Howe on transfer failures
“We’ve had a frustrating time in terms of losing targets to other clubs,” he told reporters last week. “I’d be very open with that. That’s happened on several occasions.
“In order for a transfer to really work, in my opinion, the player has to be desperate to come to your club. We’re seeking players who are good enough, who are desperate to come, and who can make the difference. They’re in short supply for us.
“We’re confident that we can try and get some more players in to strengthen the depth of the squad. We’re certainly aware that we need to and we’re trying as hard as we can to do that.”
Jamie O’Hara gives geography theory
Speaking on talkSPORT, former Premier League midfielder O’Hara highlighted Newcastle’s location in the North East as a problem when attracting overseas talent. He said: “Newcastle are failing to get quite a lot of their targets over the line at the moment. They’ve got to go to the next level, haven’t they?
“Players are going, 'You know what, Liverpool, Chelsea, London… Newcastle? It's a bit cold. If they could spend whatever they wanted, which the owners could, you'd get the player over the line because you'd say, I'll pay £10-15million over the odds for him because I'm going to make sure I get him at Newcastle.
“But they don't have that option, right? They've got to be careful with how they spend their money, which makes it more difficult to get deals that they want. Let me tell you now, foreign players will choose London over Newcastle every time.
“They will, you know that's true whether that's right or not. Newcastle are a great football club, but you have other situations that come into effect with wives, children, where they want to be. Newcastle, geographically, is a little bit of an issue for them because they're up north.”
Sympathy for PIF
O’Hara sympathises with PIF being restricted by the PSR shackles. He added: “These owners, I feel for them a little bit because they’ve got all the money in the world but PSR is affecting them to the point where they can only spend a certain amount of money. You’re competing with other teams that can spend the same as you - even though you’ve got more money than them.”