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Steve Bruce was asked why he chose to sign Callum Wilson before Ollie Watkins in his post-game press conference in West Ham.
It was a question that elicited an interesting response from Bruce with Newcastle going for Wilson ahead of Watkins this summer.
Watkins has yet to prove himself at the Premier League level and Aston Villa has paid an initial £ 22 million with the fee potentially increasing to £ 33 million, meaning Wilson looks like a £ 20 million cut.
When asked why he turned down players like Watkins, who proved to be a scoring machine for Brentford in the championship, Bruce said: “Lots of forwards?
“I’m not sure there are. Like who?”
When they named Bruce Watkins, he said, “Well yeah, look, I tried to get Callum from Coventry a few years ago.
“But I have seen his career. There is something about the boy that I enjoy watching.
“He moves well. He is a scorer and works tirelessly for the team.
“I’m delighted that I did. More importantly, Callum wanted to play for Newcastle and that always helps.
“That was the situation.”
Bruce also has the option to play Miguel Almiron in attack, while the £ 40 million Joelinton was restricted to a cameo at London Stadium.
But Bruce says he just couldn’t leave a man who cost absolutely nothing out of his starting lineup.
Bruce added: “The only thing I could do was bring Almiron and Joelinton.
“We know that if Andy stays well, and deserves to be well and deserves that break, and if he stays well, Andy Carroll is a threat to any team.
“Especially when teams have a certain physique like West Ham.
“That’s why I wanted to play with him up front.
“He did well in the preseason and deserves his shot at West Ham. He would have knocked down my door with good reason.
“In preseason, he has a couple of goals and has trained every day.
“He worked tirelessly to get in shape.
“I was desperate to play and I always had up my sleeve that it was West Ham where he wanted to do well.”
However, Bruce hinted that he might be ready to release Wilson and Carroll again next weekend when Brighton & Hove Albion arrive in Tyneside.
Bruce said: “We’ve done it once. But I know that as a former center midfielder I wouldn’t want to play them (Wilson and Carroll).
“So look, it worked fantastically well.
“Hopefully they both keep up well and that we have something to look forward to.”
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