Needing a left-back for Eddie Howe’s squad, Newcastle United went about finding someone who could offer some attacking impetus, eventually deciding to try for Robin Gosens.
The German wing-back was then at Atalanta, who were prepared to let him go, which only fed the rumours sending him to the Magpies, but the Premier League side were ultimately unsuccessful.
Gosens went to Inter at the end of the transfer window, forcing Newcastle to bring in Matt Targett on loan from Aston Villa, who helped his new side beat Everton 3-1 on his debut.
Since then, the Germany international has been chatting to various outlets about his personal January transfer window, doing so most recently with Sky Germany, who published the interview on Friday.
One of the first questions was about the Newcastle rumours, with the fact ‘many assumed’ he was drawn to England, and the 27-year-old happily explained what went on behind the scenes.
He said: “That’s true, many assumed that. In fact, I believe all of them, except me (laughs). That was real, and the negotiations were as far as were described. Just without the fact that I said yes. And then came Inter, who then wanted to finish everything relatively quickly. Accordingly, the transfer took place in 48 hours.
“That went from the first conversation with the manager to the negotiations and then the presented. All done in 48 hours. That was crazy and also somehow unexpected, because I come from a period where I didn’t play for three months. Of course, I’m super happy to be here. We’re talking about one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Above all, I’m really proud that through hard work, I managed to switch to such a club.”
