My Newcastle United career ended after zero appearances in four years but I met my expectations
Remember the name Rodrigo Vilca? Don't worry if you don't!
The Peruvian youngster arrived at St James' Park in 2020 but left upon the expiry of his contract last summer. Signed amid much fanfare due to his exploits at Lima-based side Deportivo Municipal, Vilca left Tyneside last year having made no first-team appearances for Newcastle United.
Instead, the midfielder was restricted to a few first-team training sessions, a host of under-21 displays and three loans in as many years. However, speaking out about his time at the club in a recent interview, Vilca insists he has no regrets over any missed opportunities on Tyneside.
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Speaking to Eldiez, Vilca said:“What can I say, honestly, in general, with the job, I can’t say that I didn’t meet expectations because the first day I arrived at Newcastle United I trained with the first team, it wasn’t hard for me, but I don’t know.
“I think it was other expectations, how my arrival happened too. There were many things that, perhaps, weren’t handled. But that’s part of what’s left in the past.”
Vilca was small in stature and on the face of it looked as though he lacked the physicality needed to make the jump from Newcastle's youth setup to first-team. His appearances among the senior side on the training pitch were limited too, with Vilca instantly being called up to train with the big boys mainly due to covid-19 prompted many household names to sit out back in 2020.
Vilca's main taste of English football came on loan at Doncaster, where he featured just 10 times, and he insists he could manage the demanding nature of England's lower leagues.
“I don’t think it was difficult for me in terms of football because after that, I went to League One, which is a competition in which you run, run and run, and which is even more competitive than when I was in the Newcastle reserve team.”
