Andros Townsend looks certain to move from Tottenham to Newcastle with the clubs close to agreeing a compromise over the fee for the England winger.
Townsend, who has barely featured for Spurs this campaign and has played only 64 minutes in the Premier League in total, has been targeted by Newcastle’s manager, Steve McClaren, for several weeks as he seeks to strengthen his squad for the battle against relegation.
Tottenham’s chairman, Daniel Levy, had originally demanded that they pay £14m to secure the 24-year-old and rejected Newcastle’s opening offer of £10m earlier this month.
But with Mauricio Pochettino keen to free up space in his squad, the Tottenham manager has personally intervened to request that the club accepts a lower bid – understood to be somewhere in the middle of the two clubs’ valuations. Levy is believed to have sanctioned the move in principle and now Townsend will discuss personal terms with Newcastle but is expected to sign for the club in the next 48 hours.
Having been a regular in Roy Hodgson’s England squad last season, Townsend was banished from Spurs’ first team after clashing with the fitness coach, Nathan Gardiner, and forced to train with the Under-21s. He has not played for Tottenham’s first team since and it is now nearly two years since he completed a full Premier League match for the club.
But it is understood that Pochettino has been impressed with Townsend’s attitude since being frozen out of the first team picture and was keen to allow him to find another club as a goodwill gesture.
