Leon aims to do his very Best

Feb 5 2010 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

Leon Best feared his move to Newcastle would never happen before a last-minute transfer window dash. He told Chief sports writer Luke Edwards why it is the perfect move at the perfect time

“What I have is a move to club which gives me the chance to make it.

“I am in a position and a club where I can show people what I am made of.

Andy Cole was a Nottingham boy and he came here and scored a lot of goals.

“I just want to be as successful as I can, and the aim now is to score the goals which get us back into the Premier League.

“This is a Premier League club, everything about it is a Premier League club, the stadium, the fans, everything.”

Crucially, of course, the club Best has signed for are not a Premier League club, they are just a Championship club which believes it belongs in the top flight and Best cannot be certain of anything.

It is hoped his pace and power will add something different to a side which has become a little too predictable in recent weeks.

Yet he was not Chris Hughton’s first choice, or his second and not even his third as Jermaine Beckford, Marlon Harewood and Victor Moses all slipped through the net for varying reasons.

Best, apparently unperturbed by Hughton’s pursuit of other targets, added: “I had heard a whisper at the start of the window, but there were a lot of whispers. I was just waiting thinking ‘is this going to happen, please let it happen’.

“There was a lot of talk, as there always is in the transfer window, but eventually it became solid and that was that. I flew up and got it done as quickly as possible.

“I was spending most of my time reading about Newcastle being interested in this player and that player and I did begin to think it wouldn’t happen. I needed that bit of luck and I got it.

“The other moves fell through for one reason or another and I now I have this wonderful chance at Newcastle.”