Former Newcastle United star reveals 2012 Sunderland transfer deadline day snub

A former Newcastle United and England star has revealed he rejected a transfer deadline day move to Sunderland out of respect for the Magpies.

The Black Cats set up a double deadline swoop on then-Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the summer transfer window in 2012. After a hectic close-season that saw Martin O’Neill complete deals for the likes of Carlos Cuellar, Louis Saha and Steven Fletcher, the then-Black Cats boss added England left-back Danny Rose to his ranks on a season-long loan deal within the final hours of the window.

O’Neill had tried to add Rose’s Spurs team-mate Jermaine Jenas to his ranks on a permanent basis after agreeing a fee with the North London club and offered the midfielder an opportunity to return to the North East for the first time since his time at Newcastle came to an end during the summer of 2005. After linking up with the Magpies three years earlier, Jenas actually made his full debut in a 1-0 win against Sunderland in February 2002 and went on to feature under Sir Bobby Robson in Champions League and UEFA Cup campaigns.

Although his time on Tyneside was slightly soured by comments prior to his departure to Spurs, Jenas admitted his respect for Newcastle meant he could not agree to the move to Sunderland.

Speaking to FFs, the former England midfielder: "Martin O'Neill had been trying to sign me for years when he was at [Aston] Villa and I kept turning him down. Then he was at Sunderland. At the time, I didn't even know it was Sunderland but my agent rang me and he said, 'There's two clubs.' I just knew one of them was Sunderland. It was deadline day and I said to him, 'I just can't go to Sunderland. It kills the Newcastle thing too much and I respect the Newcastle thing too much.' I didn't want to do it and it didn't work out for whatever reason."

What did Jermaine Jenas say about making his full Newcastle United debut at Sunderland?

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "Before the Sunderland game [his first Newcastle start] I was just so nervous. I thought I could deal with all the attention I was getting because of the transfer fee but it affected me and I couldn't control a bag of cement. I was shocking. He (Sir Bobby Robson) walked up to me the Thursday before the game and said 'by the way, you're starting Saturday, so you best get your head around it'.

"I just thought 'no manager in the world right now would do that'. Afterwards he gave me a big smile and said 'I always knew you could do it'. Little things like that made him really special to me. He was a big loss to me and a lot of the lads when he got the sack."

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