SAMMY AIMS TO SHINE
AMEOBI HOPING TO MAKE THE MOST OF ANY CHANCES HE GETS AT NEWCASTLE
Sammy Ameobi says he’s going to enjoy every minute he gets on the pitch at Newcastle United – as he knows this season could be his last at the club.
The forward returned from a half-season loan at League One club Bolton Wanderers last month.
Ameobi has come off the bench in each of Newcastle’s last three Championship fixtures.
And the 24-year-old – who is out of contract in the summer and playing for his future – is hopeful of more opportunities over the coming weeks and months.
“I’m working hard every day to hopefully impress the manager,” said Ameobi.
“If he feels I’m good enough, then that’s awesome. If not, I can move on with my head held high. I’ve done everything I can.
“But that’s still to be seen. I want the club to get promoted. This is the club I support, and I want to do everything I can to help that happen.
“I want to play my part, work hard whenever I’m called upon, if I’m called upon, and hopefully do everything I can to help the team and not just myself, essentially.
“I just want to fit in and show that I’m good enough to be able to play at this level.
“I want to feel comfortable with the quality we’ve got. We’ve got some amazing players here.
“Coming back, it’s been a bit of a transition, but I’ve really enjoyed it.
“Hopefully, I can settle in even more here.”
Ameobi – whose brother Shola this week joined Notts County until the end of the season – is reluctant to look beyond the next game.
“No matter where I’m going to be in the future – I have no idea what my future holds – I know that I’m in the right hands,” Ameobi told the club’s matchday programme.
Meanwhile, Newcastle will end the winter transfer window in profit – thanks to Cheick Tiote’s move to China.
The club is set to bank a fee approaching £500,000 for the midfielder, who has linked up with Beijing Enterprises.
Tiote has agreed a twoyear deal with the second division club.
The modest fee for Tiote – who is out of contract in the summer – contrasts sharply with the huge sums banked last summer, when Newcastle made a £30million-plus profit on player trading after the high-profile departures of Moussa Sissoko and Georginio Wijnaldum. But Tiote’s move means that United will turn in another profit, albeit a small one.