Former Newcastle United central midfield player Stephen Ireland has revealed what his manager at the time Alan Pardew told him following his loan move from Aston Villa back in the January transfer window of the 2010/11 season.
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As per The Athletic (via George Caulkin), Pardew said to Ireland that the loan deal meant that every time he made an appearance for the Tyneside club, whether if it is just for a minute or the full 90, the Magpies had to pay Villa £50,000, so as a consequence his boss was told that he could only use him four times.
Love this @DTathletic interview with Stephen Ireland, which contains this memorable anecdote about his otherwise unmemorable loan spell at Newcastle. #NUFC https://t.co/POb2FIrCIU pic.twitter.com/ExmdpE2Bun
— George Caulkin (@GeorgeCaulkin) June 24, 2020
In the end, the 33 year old was only used twice, appearing for just 49 minutes in the Premier League, according to Transfermarkt.
Luckily for Ireland, he did not need to make much of an impact anyway, as the St. James’ Park outfit cruised to a rather respectable 12th place in the 2010/11 top flight table on 46 points, seven clear of the relegation zone, although they did finish below bitter rivals Sunderland.
The Irish international might be a forgotten man in the North East, but he did make a name for himself with the likes of Manchester City, Aston Villa and Stoke City, as well as the Republic of Ireland international team (via Transfermarkt).
Nevertheless, assuming what Pardew told him is true, then Ireland would have cost the Magpies £100,000 in total for featuring in just two games.
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However, some members of the Toon faithful may forgive him since NUFC stayed up in that campaign anyway and did not seem to need his services.
Geordies, do you remember Ireland playing in the black and white stripes? Comment below!
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