IT is often said that Newcastle United supporters love their number nines, and they do. But you don’t have to delve too far into the club’s history books to conclude that the St James’ Park support base is also pretty enthusiastic about the players who get the ball to their beloved centre-forwards in the first place.

Newcastle United's five greatest ever wingers

From Terry Hibbitt, Tony Green and Chris Waddle to David Ginola, Laurent Robert and Nolberto Solano, Newcastle fans have always enjoyed a special relationship with the club’s wingers.

More recently, the supply line has stuttered. Albert Luque, a much-trumpeted signing from Deportivo La Coruna in 2005, was a disaster. Hatem Ben Arfa had his moments, but was ultimately a huge disappointment. The less said about Florian Thauvin, still just eight months into his Newcastle career, the better.

So while Andros Townsend arrives with plenty of warm wishes following his £12m move from Tottenham, he also finds himself charged with the task of reversing an alarming recent decline. As well as teeing up the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ayoze Perez, the 24-year-old also has to prove that the days of dazzling Newcastle United wing play are not at an end.

“David Ginola was my favourite player to watch growing up,” said Townsend, who is looking to rebuild his career on Tyneside following a frustrating 12 months that saw him frozen out of the first-team picture by Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino. “So there’s no pressure there then is there?

“I was too young to see him in the Newcastle team really, but I’ve watched the highlights of all his great games for Newcastle over the years, and of some of the other games he played in too.

“He was a great player here. I’ve got confidence in my ability, so hopefully I’ll go out and excite the St James’ Park crowd too. I want to take players on in the final third. If I do that, hopefully I’ll get a few assists and help the strikers to score.”

Along the way, Townsend is also hoping to enjoy some personal redemption too. Two years ago, it appeared as though the Londoner had the world at his feet.

Having finally broken through at Tottenham, the club he had supported as a child and joined at the age of eight, he was widely regarded as one of the most exciting and talented players in the country.

He made 33 senior appearances in the 2013-14 season, broke into the England team to explosive effect, and would almost certainly have gone to the World Cup in Brazil had he not suffered a serious ankle injury two months before the tournament started.

Missing out on what would have been the biggest opportunity of his life was a huge disappointment, but worse was to follow as Pochettino was installed as Tim Sherwood’s replacement at White Hart Lane.

The Argentinian quickly concluded that Townsend was not for him, and despite his status as an England regular, the winger was immediately ostracised and forced to train with Spurs’ development squad.

The last six months have been a write off, and while he needs a strong end to the season if he is to claim a place in Roy Hodgson’s squad for this summer’s European Championships, his primary motivation as he prepares for his Newcastle debut at Everton on Wednesday is to remind everyone of the abilities that earned him his England call up in the first place.

“I’m the same player and same person that broke onto the scene a few years ago and was tipped as a big England prospect,” said Townsend. “I was an integral part for club and country, and I’m still that same player.

“But I’ve not played in that kind of run of games – nine or ten games in a row – since 2013 really. I’ve not had a chance to do that. I’ve been playing with the Under-21s though, and although it’s a different level, I’ve had seven games in six weeks so I’m fully fit for the first time in a long while. I’m injury free and in the best shape of my life, and I’m hoping Newcastle will benefit from that.

“I’m not looking to get back to where I was though – I’m looking to become an even better player. I don’t look back, I always forward, and I feel as though I’m more mature than I was back then, and I fully believe I can get back to that level.”

Given his lack of action in the last year, Townsend’s £12m price tag has raised a few eyebrows. In time though, he hopes it will come to be regarded as an astute piece of business on behalf of the Magpies.

“Of course £12m is a lot of money,” he said. “I know that. But if I can reach my potential and play to the ability I know I have, then I’m sure as quickly as people are saying it’s a lot of money, they’ll be saying it’s a bargain.

“Football has its ups and downs, it turns so quick. If I put in a few good performances, it will look like money well spent.”

It will also help ensure Townsend continues to be a Premier League player next season. Newcastle’s latest addition might claim the club’s perilous position in the relegation zone did not concern him as he was pondering whether to move to the North-East, but he is not naïve enough to set his sights too high for the remainder of the season.

“There is genuine ambition here, but I don’t think people can think beyond the next three or four months,” he said. “Premier League survival is the focus for everyone in the dressing room, and then should we maintain that, we can start thinking about the future and bigger picture.”