Townsend ‘leaves England squad to secure shock move’

Oli Fisher
Andros Townsend: Linked with move to Liverpool and Man City

Andros Townsend: Linked with move to Liverpool and Man City

Newcastle United winger Andros Townsend is reportedly close to securing a shock move to Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.

It is reported that Townsend has travelled over to Portugal to discuss and possibly finalise the move to the Portuguese giants, who finished second this season in the Primeira Liga.

The winger was selected in the preliminary England squad for friendlies against Turkey and Australia, with the latter being back in the North East at Sunderland.

However players were given Monday afternoon off and are not required to report back until Wednesday.

Portuguese outlet Record state Townsend is signing for Sporting Lisbon after they decided to activate the £8million clause in his Newcastle contract.

A social media post appeared to show the 24-year-old on a flight towards the Portuguese capital.

Earlier this month, his father Troy stated he might yet stay with the Magpies. West Ham and Southampton have been credited with interest in the last few weeks.

“Newcastle could rise quickly and Andros looks forward to many more seasons with them” he told BBC Five Live.

But Sporting offer Champions League football, something which Townsend will be eager to experience given that he has only tasted the Europa League with Spurs.

The former Leeds loanee revealed earlier in the month that Euro 2016 is firmly on his mind in an interview for nufc.co.uk.

“It’s no secret that I hadn’t been getting too much game time over the past season-and-a-bit, and Newcastle took a chance on me, brought me to the club and I can’t thank them enough.

“Ever since the manager came in, you can see that he’s taken my game to another level. I’m hugely grateful and if I get the opportunity to go to the Euros, I will be proud to do so representing Newcastle.

“From my performances over the last couple of months – and the team’s performances – I knew I could do a good job for England, if selected.

“But you can’t take anything for granted and you don’t know what the national manager is thinking. All you can do is keep playing well on the pitch and hope that your good form is being noticed.”