Valentino Lazaro has claimed that he rejected a move to Germany in January in favour of joining Newcastle United as he wanted to experience playing in the Premier League.

Newcastle signed the Austrian winger from Inter during the January transfer window on a loan deal until the end of the season.  

 



The Premier League outfit had to work hard to convince the player and beat off competition from RB Leipzig in the race to sign Lazaro during the winter transfer window.

Lazaro stressed that it is no secret that he could have been playing in the Champions League if he had moved to the Bundesliga in the winter.
 


But the player already had experience of playing in Germany and he wanted to enjoy and test himself playing in the Premier League, which led to the move to Newcastle in January.



Lazaro told Italian outlet FcInterNews.it: “It is no secret that I had the opportunity to go to a top club in Germany and play Champions League [football] in a team where many of my friends play.

“But I wanted to try a new experience, something I hadn’t experienced yet.
 

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“So, I chose to test myself in the Premier League.”

Lazaro has made five appearances for Newcastle and it is unclear whether he will stay at St James' Park permanently.