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£40m-rated defender says he nearly joined Newcastle for just £2m

Charles Jones

Fri 14 February 2025 8:35, UK

Newcastle United have missed out on some fantastic signings over the years.

Indeed, Jarrod Bowen nearly signed for Newcastle before he joined West Ham, while Newcastle almost signed Marc Guehi in the summer.

Newcastle nearly signed Luka Modric as well before he became a superstar.

The Magpies have missed out on some very talented players over the years.

Now, one of the best defenders in the Premier League has admitted that he nearly signed for Newcastle a few years ago.

Indeed, speaking on Ben Foster’s Podcast, Fulham’s Antonee Robinson has claimed that Steve Bruce called him about signing for Newcastle when he left Wigan Athletic.

Robinson had a release clause when he was at Wigan, but now, the left-back is valued at £40m and Robinson can count Liverpool among his admirers.

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Antonee Robinson nearly joined Newcastle

Robinson spoke about his departure from Wigan and which teams he could’ve signed for.

Robinson says that Everton tried to buy him back and then re-sell him straight away, which wasn’t something he was keen on.

Meanwhile, the defender said that he spoke to Steve Bruce about joining Newcastle, but he ultimately joined Fulham instead.

“So yeah, I think at the time I was leaving Wigan, everyone knew I was leaving for cheap because of the clause (£2m) and whatever. So Everton were trying to like buy me back to then sell me straight away basically, which I just weren’t having that, I felt a bit wrong. Newcastle, Steve Bruce rang me and was like, look, we’d like to do it,” Robinson said.

“And obviously that’s a massive club. I was like, I’m interested, but I didn’t really feel quite right. Sheff United, I went and met Chris Wilder.

“That seemed like a good fit. It seemed like that was where I was going to be going. And then got a phone call off Scotty Parker, who was Fulham gaffer at the time.”

Antonee Robinson stats this season

It’s fair to say that Newcastle missed out on a gem here.

Indeed, Robinson has gone from strength to strength since signing for Fulham back in 2020, and, this season, he has blossomed into one of the best full-backs in the league.

The USA international has been brilliant for Fulham this season, and he’s on course to break the Premier League record for most assists by a defender in a season at this rate.

Of course, Lewis Hall has been brilliant for Newcastle as well recently, but the Magpies could always do with that extra quality and depth in their squad.

Newcastle certainly missed a trick in not signing Robinson for just £2m when the opportunity presented itself.