Newcastle Transfers: Alan Pardew Targets Spurs Winger Andros Townsend

Alan Pardew has already made it known that he is eager to add more British players to the Newcastle dressing room this summer with Tottenham winger Andros Townsend understood to be among his targets. With a handful of out-of-favour wide men, including Jonas Gutierrez, Sylvain Marveaux and Gabriel Obertan, certain to leave St James' Park at the end of the season it's hardly surprising that the club have been linked with the England international in the Journal this morning. Townsend enjoyed a blistering start to the season, earning international recognition as a result, and was a regular under former Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas but has suffered with injuries during the second half of the campaign and slipped down the pecking order at White Hart Lane under Tim Sherwood. He still has a fan in Pardew, however, and the Magpies boss will pitch for the club's recruitment hierarchy to take a serious look at the 22-year-old with a move to the North East certain to appeal to him.

€œWe know (Townsend) because there was talk of him going out on loan,€ he told Sky Sports last year just after Townsend had made his international debut in October.

€œObviously, when you look at his career, he€™s been out on loan a number of times and we looked at him this year and thought €˜would he interest us?€™. We weren€™t sure; I think that€™s where everybody was at the start of the season.€™

€œYou€™re talking about a high level (Premier League). We€™ve got fantastic players at our football club and is he better than the ones we€™ve got?

€œI was a bit like €˜Hmm, not sure€™. I think (Andre Villas-Boas) was a little bit like that as well. But fair play to the lad, he€™s come into Tottenham€™s team and done terrific and now he€™s made that extra step which is great for England and Spurs in particular.€

Whether he is better than Gutierrez, Marveaux and Obertan is open to debate. Townsend has all the attributes of a competent Premier League winger but has never really performed consistently enough to suggest he would be an improvement the aforementioned trio. However, given our dearth of options in wide areas it's possible that the club will give him the chance to audition in a black and white shirt by pursuing a loan deal for him with a view to a permanent transfer as Pardew strives to reboot his squad.