Townsend: I had to quit Newcastle
Andros Townsend said he had to quit Newcastle and return to the Premier League for the sake of his international career.
Andros Townsend joined Crystal Palace this summer from Newcastle, where he's been playing since the beginning of 2016.
He joined Newcastle after struggling at his former club Tottenham. The 25-year-old has been called up for the England squad and could possibly play on Saturday against Malta.
"It has been extremely frustrating. Looking back on it I got injured at the wrong time when I was flying high," he said.
"Then for a year or two I could not get back to the form I wanted to. But now, what is in the past is in the past and I proved at Newcastle I am still good enough to play in the Premier League.
"It gave me great confidence again and I got back in the England squad. Unfortunately, it did not work out for me there but now I am playing well for Palace and scoring goals again.
"Obviously there is a bit of frustration that I could not kick on after my debut but I think I am in a good place again, I am happy with my form and I am playing well".
He added: "Maybe I was taking people on more, but now I have matured a lot and am getting crosses early into the box. That is getting me more assists and hopefully I am getting more goals.
"It's nice to be back. I missed the last few trips. Now I'm back and hopefully I can make the most of it. I didn't know Raheem was out".