10 Players Who Turned Down Big Moves To Join Newcastle
10. Daryl Janmaat - Napoli
You'd think that anyone who turned down Champions League football to play for this Newcastle side might have to have their head examined, but that's exactly the steps that brought Dutch full-back Daryl Janmaat to the club. Already linked with Manchester United - probably mostly because of Louis Van Gaal's position at the club - Janmaat's profile was growing in Europe, even if his World Cup input was less than might have been expected. But ultimately it was Tyneside and the Magpies that captured the full-back's imagination best, and he turned down several significant offers to join as Mathieu Debuchy's replacement when he went to Arsenal. On signing, Janmaat drew attention to the bids that failed to convince him to go elsewhere - no doubt coached by Newcastle's excited PR team:
There was some interest from Italian clubs. But when I heard from Newcastle my feeling was it was perfect... It is a fantastic day for me. When I saw the stadium there were a lot of things here, Im happy.¨ It is a really nice stadium and Ive heard a lot from Tim Krul. Im really impressed. The fans are also fantastic... Im looking forward to playing here.
One of those Italian teams was Napoli, who wanted to give Janmaat European football (though they were knocked out of the Champions League at the first hurdle), and while it is perhaps down to the Italian game's financial issues that he chose to look elsewhere, it's still a matter for pride that he came to Newcastle nonetheless.
