Former Newcastle United striker Shefki Kuqi thinks things would have played out differently for him if he joined the club under Sir Bobby Robson.
Kuqi, of course, joined Newcastle United in surprise fashion back in February 2011.
Alan Pardew was left light in attacking areas following what was then the British record sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool a few days before.
Newcastle didn’t replace Carroll in the 2011 January transfer window but eventually turned to Kuqi after looking through a list of free agents.
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The Kosovan-born former Finland international played six games for the club before leaving Newcastle at the end of the 2010-11 campaign without scoring a goal.
Still, he believes that if he signed under the iconic Robson earlier in his career, it may have played out rather differently.
Shefki Kuqi wishes he signed for Newcastle United under Sir Bobby Robson
Now manager of Chania out in Crete, Kuqi was interviewed by Newcastle United’s official website.
While Kuqi spoke positively about his time under Pardew, he believes that he’d have enjoyed a much more successful time of things had he arrived during Robson’s tenure at Newcastle.
Kuqi has revealed that Robson had considered signing him while he was playing for Ipswich between 2003 and 2005.
Though playing in the Championship at the time, Kuqi was relatively prolific for the Tractor Boys. In total, he scored 32 goals in 89 games for the club.
Asked if signing for Newcastle under Robson would have changed his career on Tyneside, Kuqi said: “Absolutely, I think that would have been a different outcome.”
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Kuqi almost got a job at Newcastle United ten years after leaving
Back in September 2021 and just before the PIF takeover, Newcastle considered appointing Kuqi as their U23s coach.
Obviously, he didn’t get the role, but he has gone on to enjoy a nomadic coaching career.
Kuqi has managed in Finland, Kosovo and Crete.
Current club Chania sit eighth in Group B of the Greek Super 2, after only three wins in their opening 15 games.
Signing Kuqi was definitely a strange move for the club but, to his credit, he gave his absolute best in a difficult situation.
He was 35 and a free agent by the time Newcastle came calling and only arrived as a back-up player, so Kuqi being a major success hardly seemed likely anyway.
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