Imagine trying to convince a top player to join Newcastle United. What would be the sales pitch?

Come and join us. The fans are depressed and constantly protesting against how the club is run; the manager has his hands tied in the transfer market and makes his frustration known every week; the owner wants to sell the club so does not want to spend any more money; the prospective owner keeps saying she wants to buy but does not seem to have the cash to do it (and we’re not really sure what she’ll do if she ever gets it); the squad is filled with Championship players; and you’ll spend the next six months fighting to keep us in the Premier League. If we get a few bad results, the manager might decide he has had enough and leave.

When Daniel Sturridge decided this was not an attractive brochure, heading nearer home to West Bromwich Albion instead, there were a few expressing their surprise.

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