West Ham star Jarrod Bowen has recalled how he missed out on a move to Newcastle United because the club wouldn't pay £14m for him in 2020.
The 26-year-old joined the Hammers from Hull City, but almost made the move to St. James' Park instead if the Magpies hadn't been so tight with their cash. The move would've seen him be reunited with Steve Bruce, with the then-Newcastle manager having helped Bowen find his best success with the Tigers.
"So it was on Deadline Day, and I was just sat there doing nothing. I thought I was going to Newcastle because Steve Bruce was there," Bowen claimed on Premier League's Behind The Game alongside Ian Wright and rapper Tinie Tempah.
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"I was even looking for houses and everything, I thought it was nailed on! Then they turned around and said: 'We won't pay the money'. So I thought: 'Ok, I'll stay at Hull then'.
"£14m with £6m in add-ons. One of them was an England call-up and I thought that'd never happen! So I go to training at Hull all normal, get there and the manager pulls me, saying: 'What are you doing here?'
"He said: 'We've accepted a bid from West Ham'. I didn't even know they were interested. I had my three hour medical in Leeds and then got the train to London."
Bruce has also previously recalled his experience missing out on Bowen, although his version of events seems to differ from the Irons star. "The big one I missed on at Newcastle was Jarrod Bowen who we'd actually signed at Hull from Hereford United for about £50,000," Bruce told the Die For Three Points podcast.
"I watched him come through, great kid. I had him parked in the service station on the M1 waiting to see if we had the permission, to see if I could scramble the funds to make it happen but I couldn't get the money together and he went to West Ham instead."
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