Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Newcastle United, Premier League, Aston Villa
Tom Fenton
Newcastle United's fine start to the Premier League season has left many pundits pondering whether The Toon could actually qualify for the Europa League or better.
With Newcastle already boasting an incredible fanbase and unfathomable riches, it would surely be hard to deny their status as a 'big club' if they do bring continental football to St James' Park next season. However, one ex-player disagrees.
According to former Aston Villa man Gabby Agbonlahor, The Magpies aren't yet a 'big' club, as they haven't won a Premier League title.
Speaking last night (8 October) with fellow pundit Jamie O'Hara on TalkSPORT, he sought to downplay the hype surrounding Eddie Howe's men, who most recently hammered Brentford 5-1 at home.
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In response to O'Hara suggesting that Newcastle are a 'huge' club, Agbonlahor asked: "When you say huge football club, in what way?"
“I’m just saying, that haven’t won a Premier League title. Are you saying in terms of fanbase?
“I think that they’ve got an amazing fanbase. They’ve turned St James’ Park into a fortress and some top players are playing for them, but I wouldn’t call them a big club.”
The 35-year-old then doubled-down on his point. He explained how the desire of some footballers to play in London even means that they would favour a club like Brentford over Newcastle - even if it meant getting paid less.
Agbonlahor added: “When I was playing in the Premier League, Newcastle was the place where you wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to go, it’s far up north, the weather."
“Players want to be close to London, closer to London was the attraction. If you offered a player £40,000-a-week at Newcastle, or £30,000-a-week at Brentford, they would go to Brentford even on less money.
“Players don’t want to live in Newcastle. They’re going to want clauses in their contracts if they go down they can leave for this amount of money.”
Quite whether his comments bare any truth to the reality of the situation remains to be seen. All we do know is that he won't exactly be a popular man on Tyneside moving forwards.
In spite of their geographical location, Newcastle have already lured some big names to St James' Park since the Saudi-led takeover. Bruno Guimares, who has been a revelation this season, joined the club in January for a fee of £38 milliion, alongside England international Kieran Trippier.
Do you agree with Agbonlahor's comments? Let us know what you think.