Feyenoord midfielder Brett Emerton has again spoken of his desire to play in the Premiership - and hopes to use his club's Champions League campaign to push his case.
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Emerton: Still dreams of playing in the Premiership
(NickLaham/Allsport) |
The Australian international was on the verge of an £8million switch to Newcastle United last month, but the two clubs could not agree on the method of payment.
Emerton has always dreamed of playing in England, and he now hopes that he can show the Magpies what they are missing during the two clubs' European battles. That may then lead to Newcastle rekindling their interest when the transfer market re-opens in January.
The 23-year-old is due on Tyneside on September 24 as Feyenoord travel to Newcastle for their Group E clash.
'I'm really looking forward to that one because the atmosphere in the English stadiums is terrific,' he told his Dutch club's official website. 'It's a chance to see whether I'd fit into the English system.
'In theory, I'm staying with Feyenoord. I really want to win a national title with this club. But you can never say with certainty how the future will look. If a good club comes in for me and Feyenoord says I can go, who knows?
'It's been a difficult time for me, because for a long time I didn't know where my footballing future lay. There were rumours the whole time about a transfer to England.
'There was speculation for months and I had to learn to deal with it. Thankfully it's died down because the transfer market in Europe is closed. The rumour mill will probably start turning again in January though.'
Newcastle boss Sir Bobby Robson, who still maintains strong links with Dutch football from his time as manager at PSV Eindhoven, has been tracking Emerton for around 18 months.
United and the Rotterdam club will battle it out with Italian giants Juventus and Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev for places in the second group stage, and all four will feel they have a good chance of doing just that.
Emerton for one is convinced his side can claim one of the top two places in Group E, and is looking forward to the battles which lie ahead.
'In Juventus, Dynamo Kiev and Newcastle United, we've drawn three well-matched teams,' he said. 'Juventus have a fantastic team of course, but we won in Italy last year against Inter - why shouldn't we pull off another trick like that in Turin?
'To be honest, I don't know a lot about Kiev, but I'd like to see Ukraine. Unfortunately footballers don't see much of the countries they travel to. And we are going to Newcastle United. All in all I think we have a good chance of making the next round.'
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