Claims Championship rival made big mistake not selling star player to Newcastle in summer
Interesting claims about one of Newcastle United’s Championship rivals, with former Sheffield Wednesday star Jon Newsome saying that the club would have been better off selling striker Fernando Forestieri to the Magpies, or wherever, in the summer.
The forward went on strike early in the season in an attempt to force a move, only to then later embarrassingly claim that he had never wanted to leave, after the club’s owners made it clear they wouldn’t sell him.
After scoring 15 goals in 38 Championship starts last season, along with Ross McCormack the Wednesday striker was seen as a prime target for any club looking to get out of the second tier.
With 30 year old McCormack (another striker repeatedly linked with Newcastle) moving for £12m to Aston Villa, the 26 year old Fernando Forestieri was valued at least at that figure by many onlookers.
It was the second weekend of the season when the striker refused to play against Norwich, that weekend the same one when Newcastle made it two defeats in two games and had looked to carry little threat up front against both Huddersfield and Fulham, in the previous game.
However, it looks like Newcastle dodged a bullet in not signing Fernando Forestieri, the most he had ever previously scored in a season was seven Championship goals for Watford in 2013/14.
Jon Newsome looks at Forestieri’s form and goals total and thinks the Owls should have cashed in on him, clearly the implication being that the Argentine striker might be proving a one season wonder.
Already left on the bench five times this season, Fernando Forestieri has only managed three goals so far and no team in the top half of the table has scored less than Sheffield Wednesday’s 17 goals.
In contrast Newcastle have scored exactly twice as many (34) and after hitting his stride, Dwight Gayle has gone on to be top scorer in the Championship so far with 11 goals and now Aleksandar Mitrovic is hitting the back of the net after getting his chance.
Jon Newsome talking to the Sheffield Star:
“The (Sheffield Wednesday) chairman’s stance surprised me and I admire him for standing firm.
“He probably dealt with it in the fashion that he would have dealt with it in his line of business. He didn’t let Fernando Forestieri walk out and dictate terms to the club. But with hindsight now, has it worked? Has it achieved what we wanted?
“He hasn’t recaptured that form of last season so it does then pose the question ‘were we right to keep a hold of him?’ I said to somebody the other day that, hypothetically, if Wednesday decided to let him go in January, his value now compared to what it was last season would probably be half.”
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