Newcastle will struggle to sign ‘foreign players’ because of their location, says Sherwood

Tim Sherwood believes Newcastle will struggle to attract players to the club because they are in the north.

The former Aston Villa manager says foreign players tend to opt to move to clubs in London and the south of England.

But the Premier League winning captain with Blackburn believes owner Mike Ashley is an “astute businessman” and will therefore recognise value for money in the market.

“No disrespect to Newcastle but if they want to sign foreign players, they tend to move south,” Sherwood told talkSPORT, albeit before Florian Lejeune’s arrival from Eibar in a £8.8million deal was confirmed.

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“Mike won’t want to fall out of the division. They [Newcastle] are in there now and Mike Ashley is an astute businessman who knows where to spend and how much.

“But he certainly needs to put his hand in his pocket and give Rafa a certain amount money.

“I would say they [Newcastle and Brighton and Hove Albion] have an equal chance [of avoiding the drop].

“Both of them are new to the Premier League and certainly Brighton will catch teams on the hop.”

Newcastle kick off the season at home to Tottenham on August 12.