Premier League Transfer News: Former Arsenal Defender Sol Campbell joins Newcastle United
Former England defender Sol Campbell has finally made his move away from Arsenal for the 2nd time. He parted company with the Gunners two seasons back when he joined Portsmouth, but came back for another stint. He had been looking to extend his contract at the Emirates Stadium, but in the end decided to leave. The centre back has joined Newcastle United, who just made their way back in the Premier League after spending a season in The Championship. Newcastle did lose a number of players soon after being relegated, and now are on track to once again make the squad strong enough to last in the long run.
Campbell, after joining the Magpies, said that he is very excited about the prospect of once again taking Newcastle to the heights it used to be. Campbell said that this is a great opportunity for him, and he would do all he can to further the cause of the Magpies.
Newcastle’s manager Chris Hughton was one of many people looking to avail the services of Sol Campbell purely on his experience and ability to marshal the centre of defence. Sol’s contract with Arsenal ended last season, and since then, his future was unclear.
Hughton had long been looking for a central defender who would give his defence stability, and since his team had bounced right back up from the 2nd division, he said that the club was making sure that they can sustain the Premier League status for long. Newcastle was also in need of a defender because remarkably at the same time, three defenders in the squad have been injured. Steven Taylor, Danny Simpson and James Perch are all on the road to recovery ahead of the season.
Out of the three, Taylor is expected to be out the longest; he is yet to recover from a shoulder injury and is expected to be out for a couple of months at least.
Campbell made a surprise choice last season when he signed for the League Two side Notts County (on a free transfer), but just after one game he realised he was not meant to be there. Soon, he got a chance to go back to his beloved Arsenal, where he spent 5 years from 2001-2006. It was a great chance to once again prove his worth by being in one of the ‘Big Four’ sides. Age, though, was not on his side and Wenger has been known to prefer a young side and he was denied a new contract after a year. Sunderland and Scottish club Celtics were also believed to be interested in signing him, but he said that to be part of a club that is looking to revive its glory was a far bigger attraction for him than Sunderland or Celtic.
Campbell said that he is very happy to be at Newcastle. He said that this is a club with immense heritage and tradition. He said that the fans at St James’ Park know their football and respect their heroes, and he would like to be remembered at the club as someone who played a role in the revival of the historic club.
He said that he is very thankful to Hughton for giving him the opportunity at this stage of his career. The English central defender said that he would not let the team down and the faith shown in him is not misplaced.
Campbell went on to say that during his first spell at Arsenal he got to win some silverware, but more importantly, he was part of a team that was on its way up. He said that the hard work that had been put in at that time will go a long way towards the future of Arsenal, and he would want to do the same at Newcastle.
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