Yoshinori Muto Reveals He Turned Down Chelsea & Opens Up on His Reasons Why After Joining Newcastle
Newcastle United striker Yoshinori Muto has claimed that he turned down a transfer offer from Chelsea four years ago ahead of the Blues' trip to St. James' Park on Sunday.
The 26-year-old forward was still on the books with Japanese side FC Tokyo when Chelsea first made contact over the move, before Muto eventually left and moved to Germany to join top-flight side Mainz 05.
Tony Marshall/GettyImages
Despite attracting interest from one of the Premier League's biggest clubs, Muto claims that he felt like he wasn't actually wanted by the decision makers at Stamford Bridge, insisting that he would have just become part of the club's bottomless pile of youth system players.
"I was 22 when I got the offer from Chelsea," Muto said, quoted by the Telegraph. "At the time, I didn’t feel the manager of the club really wanted or needed me.
"I think they wanted to sign the young potential of players and then loan them out to help them progress. Instead of doing that, I wanted to stay at a club to help me progress.
"I wanted to feel like I could make my own progress step by step, therefore I didn’t take that opportunity."
Muto could start his first ever game for Newcastle this weekend when the Magpies welcome Chelsea to northeast England, having already made substitute appearances against Tottenham and Cardiff.
The Japan international arrived at St. James' Park this summer in a £9.6m deal from Mainz, where Muto scored 23 goals and claimed 11 assists in 72 appearances across all competitions.
