Joao Pedro and Benjamin Sesko 'don't understand' what they have missed out on with Newcastle snub

The pair snubbed a move to Newcastle in the summer and it ignited a debate over whether players want to live in the area

Newcastle United endured a difficult summer transfer window trying to sign new forwards as they sought to replace Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson.

The Magpies tried to sign both Joao Pedro from Brighton and Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig but they opted to join Chelsea and Manchester United respectively instead.

Pedro cited wanting to live in London as one of the key reasons he chose to sign for the Blues, while Sesko claimed it was a dream to make the move to Manchester.

It sparked another round of the tired debate that big players don't want to live in Newcastle from pundits who have never had an affiliation with the football club.

We don't have enough time in the day to list the endless reasons why that is absolute nonsense but, thankfully for us, former Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has done a good job of summing it up this week.

Shelvey drove 12 hours to join Newcastle from Swansea City in January 2016 and ended up staying at the club for seven years.

He considers his time at St James' Park as the highlight of his career and he insists players who haven't had the chance to play for United 'will not find love at a football club' like he did at Newcastle.

"There's this debate about whether Newcastle are able to attract the big players compared to the Manchester clubs and the London clubs but, until you go there, you don't understand what it does to you," Shelvey told BBC Sport.

"There are loads of things to do. I don't care what anyone says. If players are going to listen to this, it's a no-brainer to go there and play football.

"You will not find love at a football club like I found at Newcastle, with how they take to their players and how much they back you."

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