32-year-old Newcastle sold for £13million has signed for Premier League club on short term deal

Former Newcastle United winger Andros Townsend has been handed a Premier League lifeline by league newcomers Luton Town.

Andros Townsend has been without a club since his contract with Everton expired in the summer.

The 32-year-old has been filling his time as a pundit for Sky Sports while he looked for a new club.

The former England international had a brief spell on Tyneside under Rafa Benitez but his goalscoring exploits with Newcastle weren't enough to prevent relegation, and with his England place under threat, Townsend decided to leave Newcastle to keep his England career alive.

Townsend went to Crystal Palace for £13million in 2016 where he stayed until 2021 before moving to Everton where he was only able to make 27 appearances due to picking up a cruciate ligament injury.

Owing to that injury record, Everton opted not to give Townsend a contract extension and was without a club until the Hatters announced today that they've given Townsend a three-month contract after training with the club for the past couple of week.

Townsend is clearly excited by the move as he told the Luton Town official site:

“I feel like it’s a good fit and these last couple of weeks have been good for both parties. I think it had to be right and I feel over the last two weeks we’ve had a look at each other and done that.

“I’ve seen where I can help this team and on the flipside the manager has seen where I can help – whether that’s on the pitch, in the dressing room or on the training field – with my enthusiasm and experience.

“Plus, Luton are my local team – I live 20-25 minutes away so I’ve kept my eye on their progress and watching the Championship play-off final and see them win promotion was great for the club.

“I never thought I’d pull on the Luton shirt, so it’s a huge honour to play again in the Premier League for this club, and hopefully get help this club get as many points as we can and see where it takes us.”

I loved Townsend in his brief spell at Newcastle and was really hoping we'd keep hold of him post-relegation, but I understand his reasons for leaving and I respect him for being honest about it.

Hopefully this Luton move works out for him.