**Patrick Zwaanswijk may be a name that [Newcastle United](https://sportwitness.co.uk/category/premier-league/newcastle/) fans are unfamiliar with, but that might not have been the case. If things had gone his way, he’d have been a Magpie.**
But football careers are filled with near misses, and for him, Newcastle was the big one. That failed transfer still stings two decades later, [as he’s now explained to De Telegraaf.](https://www.telegraaf.nl/sport/voetbal/de-curieuze-carriere-van-publiekslieveling-patrick-zwaanswijk-51-van-schoten-8-naar-fc-utrecht-icoon-bij-nac-breda-en-avonturier-in-australie/144208655.html)
Zwaanswijk was impressing at Utrecht in the early 2000s, having joined the club from Ajax U21s in 1998. He went on to make 182 appearances for the club, bagging 19 goals and two assists despite playing as a centre back.
**Liverpool, Aston Villa and definitely Newcastle**
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That earned him serious Premier League attention. Liverpool and Aston Villa monitored him, but Newcastle pushed harder than anyone else.
And after three scouting missions, made a serious bid.
_“Liverpool and Aston Villa both showed interest, but Newcastle United, who had sent scouts to watch me on three separate occasions, were the most serious and submitted a substantial offer,”_ he said.
Failed Newcastle bid still hurts
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Despite the Magpies determination, the move collapsed. But it was not due to the player or the Premier League club.
Rather, FC Utrecht put the defences up. They informed Newcastle that Patrick Zwaanswijk and other key players, such as Dirk Kuyt, were not for sale. Kuyt later joined Liverpool in the summer of 2006.
But the defender believes the situation was mishandled behind the scenes, particularly by his agent Piet Buter.
“Piet failed to take certain actions. Let me put it this way: he was \*too\* close to FC Utrecht, the club where he later became technical director. Ultimately, just like Dirk Kuyt, I switched to Rob Jansen,” he added.
Japan experience like David Beckham
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Patrick Zwaanswijk would instead leave Utrecht in 2004 for a very different kind of move. He joined Japanese side Oita Trinita.
That move only lasted for a year before he returned to the Netherlands with NAC Breda. But it was a year he will never forget.
“In Japan, I finally understood what David Beckham had to go through all those years,” he concluded.
“I was worshipped like a god. That’s fun for a couple of months, but when a hundred people are waiting in a restaurant for hours just to get your autograph, you start to feel quite self-conscious.
“I earned a fortune there, and every penny was transferred directly into my account, tax-free. Life was good. But my wife at the time just couldn’t settle in.”