Newcastle aren’t an option for £92m star despite holding talks – Journalist

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The Declan Rice transfer saga rolls on with Arsenal in the driving seat for the England midfielder, however, Newcastle United were never a real option for the West Ham hero.

I think Newcastle fans were already pretty sure that Declan Rice was unlikely to become a Magpie this summer, even with Champions League football on the table.

It’s nothing to do with the club’s ambitions, it is purely a geographical thing. Players who spend their entire early career in London often find it hard to move away and will almost always take a move to another London club over a move north.

Joe Willock talked about how hard it was leaving London to move north

Even when they do take that risk they find it difficult. Joe Willock was very open about how hard the move was for him in an interview earlier this year.

That’s why it’s not really a shock to hear transfer expert Graeme Bailey say on the The Fully Loaded Transfer Show that a move to Newcastle was never really a thought in Rice’s mind, saying: “Newcastle’s chances of getting him are very low.

“There is an interest there and they have registered it. He’s never been a player who has had an interest in going to Newcastle, he hasn’t shown it.

“Newcastle have had a chat, but he is a home boy. He doesn’t want to leave London, it’s a straight battle between Arsenal and Chelsea and he wants to go to Arsenal particularly.”

Declan Rice to Newcastle was never more than a fantasy

With Arsenal looking to land the West Ham captain for around £92million, and reports claiming that Newacstle’s summer budget is a mere £75million, it was really never an option.

Even if that estimate of £75million is wide of the mark, which I believe it is, it was still unlikely that Newcastle would fork out £90million – £100million on just one player when there’s a clear need to add numbers to the squad.

It would have been nice, of course, to have Declan Rice as our holding midfielder, but this one never really looked like anything beyond pure fantasy.