Harper happy to stay at Toon

Steve Harper says he was ‘flattered’ to be wanted by Tottenham Hotspur, but insists he is happy to stay at Newcastle United. The long-serving goalkeeper ended any lingering doubts about his future earlier this week by signing a new three-year contract at St James’ Park.

“I was flattered Tottenham put an offer in for me and if the club had accepted that, it’s unlikely I would be here now,” said Harper in the Daily Star Sunday. “But when the club turned down the offer from Spurs and came back with another offer, looking at the bigger picture, I was happy to stay. As Joey Barton said when all the speculation was going, ‘You’re a lifer’. I did watch the second leg of Spurs’ cup semi-final. I watched that because, when a bid is in, anything can happen.”