Following the arrival of Jonjo Shelvey and Henri Saivet, Newcastle United marked their third piece of business this transfer window by sealing a £12 million deal for out-of-favour Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend. The Spurs academy product – who’d been consigned to the U21s for the majority this season – reckons a run of starts will make all the difference to his performances:
“I’ve got a massive point to prove now and hopefully Newcastle will benefit from that. My last full 90 minutes in the Premier League was just under two years ago so I’ve not played consistently in a long time. But the last time I played nine or 10 successive Premier League games I was kind of setting the world alight. I can’t wait to get a run of games and consistency going, and hopefully get back to that level. I have faith in my ability. I’m the same player and the same person that was tipped as a big England prospect. Physically, I’m in the best shape of my life but I haven’t had a run of games since 2013.”
The History
Born in Leytonstone, North London, Townsend enrolled with Tottenham’s academy from the age of eight, beginning his 16-year affiliation with the Lilywhites. In March 2009, he was shipped out to Yeovil Town for the first of nine successive loan spells at different clubs. His performances with the Glovers earned him promotion to the senior team and a one-month loan stint at Leyton Orient, which was subsequently extended. Townsend delivered two goals and an assist in 24 outings for Orient, prompting fellow League One side Milton Keynes Dons to snap him up in January 2010. He served up two goals and a couple of assists in nine appearances, before being recalled due to injury.
A move to Ipswich Town in the summer of 2010 represented Townsend’s first taste of Championship football. He featured prominently at the start of his term with the Tractor Boys but soon fell down the pecking order, resulting in his return to White Hart Lane on the back of a goal and two assists in 16 outings. For the remainder of the 2010/11 season – in which he made his competitive bow for Spurs in the FA Cup – Townsend would ply his trade at Watford (one assist in three outings) and Millwall (two goals and two assists, 11 appearances).
Growing frustrated at his lack of league involvement, Townsend rounded off the 2011/12 season with loans at Leeds United (one goal and one assist, six matches) and Birmingham City (four assists in 15 outings). In light of a lack of first-team opportunities during the first half of the 2012/13 campaign, the jet-heeled wide man would join Queens Park Rangers on loan, serving up two goals and as many assists in 12 appearance as the R’s succumbed to relegation.
Townsend established himself as a regular through the opening 11 Gameweeks of the 2013/14 term but wasn’t able to cement a starting berth thereafter. In all, he racked up 93 appearances for the North Londoners across all competitions, managing 11 goals and 15 assists in the process.
Having represented England at the U16, 17, 19 and 21 levels, Townsend made his senior debut in a World Cup qualifier against Montenegro, netting the Three Lions’ third of the night with a memorable strike. Townsend has since notched two goals in nine outings for Roy Hodgson’s squad but was omitted from England’s most recent squad due to a lack of league minutes.
The Prospects
Presenting his thoughts on Townsend’s switch to St James’ Park, Steve McClaren talked up the winger’s crossing ability and capacity to outfox defenders in one-on-one situations. Dispelling any notion of a bedding-in period, the Toon boss insisted that their new signing will play a part next Gameweek:
“Bringing Andros to the Club is a great signing. He is a very good talent who is a current England international and should be one for years to come, too. Andros is a winger with an old-fashioned style. He can play on the right or the left, is two-footed, quick, very direct and loves taking on defenders and crossing the ball. He has a good attitude. We see a lot more from Andros and are giving him a tremendous platform at St. James’ Park to do that. He’s been playing under-21 games, which I have watched, he is fit and will have a week’s training with us, so there’s no problems about him being ready. He will play straight away.”
In terms of formations, McClaren has mainly utilised a 4-2-3-1 set-up this season. With summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum thriving since being moved into the central support role, Townsend will battle it out with Ayoze Perez and Moussa Sissoko on the left and right respectively for a starting berth. Should he lose his spot on the left, Perez could then compete with Aleksandar Mitrovic for the lone striker spot, though McClaren could also utilise both in a two-man frontline should he look to tinker with his tactics.
Townsend predominantly operated as an inverted winger on the right flank for Spurs across the last two-and-a-half seasons, cutting inside onto his favoured left foot but – as McClaren alluded to – would routinely swap to the opposite flank at the behest of his manager. His tendency to unleash long-range efforts is illustrated by the numbers – only three of Townsend’s 16 attempts on goal in 2014/15 arrived from inside the box, though he did register a decent 50% shot accuracy and found the net on a couple of occasions. This season – in just three league outings – he fired an effort every 15.8 minutes for the North London outfit, underlining his penchant for speculative efforts.
That being said, Townsend’s spectacular solo goal against Swansea City last March showcased the extent of his talents when he’s at his best. Now playing for a side that will be bunkering in and rebuffing pressure with greater regularity, his pace could render him the perfect foil for Wijnaldum on the counter-attack., Bearing in mind that, at a cost of 5.8 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), he’s vying with the similarly-priced Dele Alli (5.7) for our attention, few Fantasy managers will be willing to immediately make a move.
Couple the fact that Newcastle have a blank in Gameweek 27 – due to Manchester City’s involvement in the Capital One Cup final – with their challenging trio of upcoming fixtures (eve, WBA, che), and it’s fair to say that Townsend faces a tough task to find a way into our Fantasy plans. Indeed, sitting third in the midfield standings, the nine-goal Wijnaldum is clearly the main contender for those eyeing up the Magpies midfield for an agreeable run from Gameweek 28 (sto, BOU, lei, SUN, nor).
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