I don't know how much of his podcast you listened to but he didn't turn down Newcastle as such. They rejected his initial wage demands and there was no further discussion.
Granted he asked for a premium given the inconvenience of travel time, uprooting himself and because moving/commuting would have taken a huge chunk out of his day due to personal and commercial commitments (family, podcasts and presumably cycling with his mates).
But the simple truth is he'd have been open to the inconvenience to himself and his family if the money was right. He basically says as such himself. And I don't necessarily blame him especially given his age and the battering his body will have taken over the years.
His head doesn't appear to be in football anymore and let's face it, we've got more than enough money going out of the club to people whose primary concern is themselves. Especially given he may not be able to train as hard as when younger and be available for every game.
Dan, he asked for a premium from Newcastle, because deep down, he didn't want to move out of his Midlands comfort zone. He said when he got out of bed the next day (this is starting to sound like a romantic novel
), he knew he'd made the right decision. For Foster, his family, podcasts, cycling with his mates, and being based in the Midlands are all important. A contract with us could maybe have allowed him to have all that. Only a couple of weeks ago he was dropping several hints about being interested.
Sure, its an extra wage for the club, and there would come a point where we'd have to say no, but I don't think he'd be looking for a premium. A No.9 remains our top priority, but we had some money ready for a couple of midfielders as well as Kelly, despite goalkeeper being an equal priority with those.
