DeAndre Yedlin reflects on his decision to join Newcastle '“ and his brief debut

Yedlin, signed from Tottenham Hotspur last week, made his debut late in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

The defender – who spent last season on loan at Sunderland –was signed as a replacement for Watford-bound Daryl Janmaat.

Yedlin knew it was time to leave Tottenham given his keenness to be playing week in, week out.

“At Tottenham, it obviously wasn’t happening,” said the 23-year-old.

“At some point, I figured that I needed to make a move to get some more playing time.

“I’m confident this is the right move.”

Yedlin replaced Yoan Gouffran in midfield against Brighton.

The USA international – who had joined Tottenham from hometown club Seattle Sounders in January last year – was warmly applauded on to the pitch.

“It was awesome to see everyone standing up and clapping,” said Yedlin. “It was a great feeling.

“I hope that I can do great things here and keep making them happy.”

The Brighton match was watched by a crowd of almost 50,000, the highest gate of the day in English football.

And Yedlin – who reportedly cost £5million – has been blown away by the “loyalty” of United’s supporters to the relegated club, which is fourth in the Championship with five games played.

“It shows how loyal the fans are to the club and that’s great,” said Yedlin.

“That’s the kind of club I want to play for. I’m very happy to be here.”

Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez believes Yedlin, a pacy and attack-minded right-back, will prove able in defence and attack.

“We knew Janmaat may be leaving, and we had two or three names to replace him,” said Benitez.

“Because Yedlin has the pace, and he’s an offensive player, we knew he was the right player for us.”

“We knew that we needed a little more pace in the side.

“To bring in someone who can run behind defences, and he could be a threat because of his pace.

“But also technically he is fine, and anyway he will improve here.

“We know he is an offensive full-back, which Janmaat was. Now we have someone with real pace.”

Yedlin is away with his USA team-mates during the international break.