Townsend: I had to quit Newcastle

Andros Townsend insists he had to quit Newcastle and return to the Premier League for the sake of his international career.

The 25-year-old made a good impact at St James’ Park following his move there in January having previously struggled to hold down a place with old club Tottenham.

Newcastle’s relegation saw Townsend transfer once again, this time to Crystal Palace, and his form there has seen him called up by interim England manager Gareth Southgate.

In as a replacement for the injured Raheem Sterling, he could play against Malta on Saturday and Townsend believes leaving Tyneside was the right decision in terms of getting back to his peak.

“It has been extremely frustrating. Looking back on it I got injured at the wrong time when I was flying high,” he said. 

“Then for a year or two I could not get back to the form I wanted to. But now, what is in the past is in the past and I proved at Newcastle I am still good enough to play in the Premier League.

“It gave me great confidence again and I got back in the England squad. Unfortunately, it did not work out for me there but now I am playing well for Palace and …

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