George Dobson reveals how he almost joined Newcastle United - before signing for rivals Sunderland

Sunderland new boy George Dobson has revealed he was close to signing for Newcastle United - before snubbing them for a Premier League rival.

By Mark Donnelly

Published 27th Jul 2019, 07:00 BST

Updated 27th Jul 2019, 12:45 BST

George Dobson turned down Newcastle for West Ham United

The 21-year-old became Jack Ross’ fifth summer signing earlier this week as he completed the move to Wearside from Walsall for an undisclosed fee.

But back in 2015, the all-action midfielder came extremely close to joining the Black Cats’ bitter rivals - only for boyhood club West Ham to enter the race for his signature, with the affinity proving too much to resist.

“I was actually really close to signing for Newcastle,” he said, speaking to Walsall’s official website in 2016.

“Then West Ham said ‘just come on the pre-season tour, and I thought that if they wanted me I’m not going anywhere else.

“So then I went [on the tour] and it all went really well and I ended up signing.”