Atalanta loanee Robin Gosens has revealed that he rejected a stunning January transfer to Newcastle, even after the club were prepared to triple his wages.
The left wing-back impressed for Atalanta during the 2020-21 Serie A season and booked a place in Joachim Low’s Germany squad for Euro 2020 last summer.
Gosens, 27, was heavily linked with Newcastle in the January window and the Magpies were ready to table a lucrative offer for the full-back.
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According to reports, Newcastle would have tripled Gosens’ wages by offering him a £57,000-a-week contract.
However, Gosens snubbed a transfer to St James’ Park and signed a loan deal with Inter Milan, with an obligation to make the move permanent for £21m (€25m).
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Inter offered the Germany international a £42,000-a-week contract, and Gosens has insisted that a move to Newcastle did not align with his sporting objectives.
“I had a contract offer, but I rejected it. I would have jeopardised my sporting goals,” he told German magazine Kicker.
Gosens added that he could have “secured a few more generations of my family” with the money offered to him.
“I think it’s very human to think about it,” he admitted.
“If you can earn many times more for the same job at a different club, show me someone who just says ‘No, thank you.’
“It’s not just about me, I could probably have secured a few more generations of my family with this money.”
Newcastle’s Saudi Arabia-led owners, who purchased the Premier League club for £300m last October, opened their war chest for a spending spree in January.
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The Magpies snapped up Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid, Chris Wood from Burnley, Dan Burn from Brighton and Bruno Guimaraes from Lyon in a bid to bolster Eddie Howe’s squad.
Newcastle have struggled this season and are currently sat in the Premier League relegation zone, but are only two points off from leapfrogging 17th-place Norwich City.
Howe’s men will return to Premier League action on Tuesday when they welcome Everton to St James’ Park.
Topics: Newcastle United, Premier League, England, Football, Atalanta, Serie A, Italy
Adnan Riaz