10 Players Newcastle Gave Up On Too Soon

7. Emre

Signed from Inter Milan in 2005, Emre arrived in Newcastle with the reputation of being a diminutive but classy midfielder. During three seasons at St James' Park, the Turkish international regularly succumbed to injury but he still managed 82 appearances and six goals, including a magnificent free-kick winner in a 3-2 Tyne-Wear derby victory over Sunderland in his first campaign. Although that goal immediately gave Emre a place in Geordie folklore, he was often labelled as being too small and not physical enough for the Premier League. By 2008, his time on Tyneside appeared to be coming to an end and he moved to Fenerbahce, before heading to Atletico Madrid, and he is now at Istanbul Basaksehir FK. Another player who won a host of trophies both before and after his Newcastle career, Emre has also been capped 94 times by Turkey. He may be small, but Emre is so technically gifted that, if he had been played in the correct system, he could have been an even bigger success in the North East.