Ryan Fraser says geography played a small part in his decision to join Newcastle United during the transfer window.
The Scotland international spent seven years at Bournemouth following a move from Aberdeen in 2013, joining Newcastle United in the summer.
So far with the Toon, he has made eight appearances, scoring on his debut in Carabao Cup action. It’s earned him a spot in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for next week’s crucial triple-header.
He wasn’t picked in the first international squad of the campaign as the winger mulled over his future. Newcastle was eventually his destination of choice and there was one particular factor.
Having spent so long down south, moving much closer to his native Aberdeen was something that appealed to him. Whilst he’d have gone several lengths to become a Toon player, being closer to home is a nice perk.
“There’s a way of living in Aberdeen, where you need to work hard to succeed,” said Fraser (Shields Gazette). “I love Aberdeen, and I was there from a young age. I moved to Oman in the Middle East, but I moved back to Aberdeen again and loved it.
“Moving (away from Aberdeen) at 17 was hard. Now if we get a couple of days off, I’d love to go back home to Aberdeen and see the family.
“Everybody thought it was a big factor for me to move closer to Scotland, but Newcastle could have been a 20-hour plane journey away, and I’d still have joined here.
“It just makes it nice that my mum and dad and family are three hours away. It’s a benefit, but not the overall factor why I moved here.”