Andros Townsend has revealed he’s in limbo over his transfer from Luton to Antalyaspor, with the Turkish side telling him he’s their player but that they can’t announce the deal or let him play because of a transfer ban.
A contract has been signed but the deal was not complete before the Super Lig side were sanctioned, meaning the 33-year-old has been training with the club for almost a fortnight, unsure of what the future holds.
Townsend also revealed that Luton wanted to keep him, but he saw the move to Turkey as a new opportunity, which he could not turn down, despite what he called “so many red flags”.
“I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks,” Townsend told the Monday Night Club on BBC’s Football Daily podcast.
“Three days before the start of the season at Luton, I get a phone call from Antalyaspor, saying ‘we have an offer for you but you’ve got 24 hours to respond because we’ve git a transfer ban coming and we need to get you in before the transfer ban’.
“So, no time to think about it. I managed to negotiate to be involved in the first game for Luton, played ten minutes in that and then it was literally all signed, all done. Then we missed the deadline by a couple of hours.
“So the contract is signed with Antalyaspor. They can’t officially register me, they can’t announce me, because they have a transfer ban, so I’m literally just stuck in Antalyaspor, just training.
“I dont know who owns me. Don’t know where my contact is, so yeah, that’s me.
“I can’t play, they can’t register me, they can’t officially announce me because they’ve got a transfer ban, similar to what Barcelona have, at times.
“I think they’ve got a dispute with just one player who’s taking them to court, so until that’s settled, they can’t bring in any new players.
“But every time I ask them, they say, ‘the contract is signed, you’re our player.’
“But nothing’s been announced. I can’t play. I’m literally in a hotel at the training ground just training and keeping my head down.”
Townsend had pre-season with Luton and featured as a substitute in the 4-1 Championship opening night defeat to Burnley. But he was not in the squad at Portsmouth the following week, as it looked like his stay at Kenilworth Road was coming to an end after one year.
But during his time at Luton, he signed a contract extension until 2026, so there will be a transfer fee due to the Hatters, if as Townsend says, he’s now contracted to Antalyaspor.
On the move, the former Tottenham attacker said: “Honestly, it was crazy. There were so many red flags, you wouldn’t believe it, but something was just telling me that this is the right move for you, to go and experience something new in Antalyaspor, which is a beautiful, beautiful city, right near the beach. Something was just telling me, make it happen.
“I can some great convos (conversations) with Rob Edwards and Gary Sweet at Luton, they wanted me to stay but they were supportive of what I wanted to do.
“Any yeah, I made the decision, I thought, to move out here, but honestly, I’ve no idea what’s happening and what’s going to happen.
“I’ve been here almost two weeks now, and every time I’ve asked (they say) ‘we’re sorting it tomorrow.’ I keep getting told ‘tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow’.
“But every time I ask ‘what’s happening?’ they say, ‘don’t worry, you’re our player. You’re contracted to us, you can’t got anywhere. So, I’m just here.”
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