‘Why would he want to live in Newcastle?’ – Ex-Man Utd man discourages PL star from joining Magpies
Former Manchester United defender Paul Parker insists it “wouldn’t make any sense” for Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen to move to Newcastle United.
Reports in October claimed the Magpies have made the Eagles centre-back one of their top targets for the January transfer window as they look to improve their squad.
Andersen has formed a good partnership with Marc Guehi at the heart of the Palace defence with the Denmark international enjoying a couple of great seasons at Selhurst Park.
Newcastle made a late summer bid for the centre-back, which was rejected by Palace, and now they are again closely monitoring his performances in south London.
Eddie Howe’s side already have the fourth best defence in the Premier League this season but they are keen to improve their depth at centre-back.
Newcastle are currently seventh in the Premier League and are still in the Champions League, while Crystal Palace are sitting 13th in the top flight – but former Man Utd defender Parker has questioned why Andersen would swap London for Newcastle.
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Parker told SpilXperten: “Why on earth would Joachim Andersen want to live in Newcastle? He lives in a beautiful area in London, so it wouldn’t make any sense to me.
“Crystal Palace is a huge club located in a lovely area in England. It would surprise me if he chooses to go to Newcastle.
“Sure, many might argue that Newcastle is a bigger club than Crystal Palace, but I don’t necessarily think that’s how Andersen sees it. He loves Crystal Palace, and he is highly appreciated by the fans.”
And Parker also thinks Andersen would struggle to get in the Newcastle side ahead of formidable centre-back pairing Fabian Schär and Sven Botman.
Parker added: “From a football perspective, I also don’t think it would be a good decision for him. Fabian Schär and Sven Botman would be ahead of him in the pecking order for playing time, so he would put himself in a position where he is far from guaranteed to get playing time.
“I’m a fan of him as a player, but it’s not a move I think he should make. He is enjoying life at Crystal Palace, where he plays alongside Marc Guehi, and together they have arguably been one of the strongest defensive pairs in the league this season. I’m not sure he wants to risk the success he’s experiencing right now.”
