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Nile Ranger believes he’d “definitely be playing” for Newcastle United right now if he was still on the Magpies’ book - because he insists he “can do better” than the current crop at the club due to his “natural-born talent”.

The 24-year-old signed a five-and-a-half-year contract back in 2010, and so could have still been on United’s books in theory. His contract was terminated in 2013.

Ranger was promising forward who, after being poached from Southampton’s academy back in 2008, failed to ever shake off his bad-boy image at St James’ Park. His time at United was characterised by negative headlines and Ranger has not played since he ran out for Blackpool back in November 2014 and then disappeared for 10 months.

Yet he still believes he could be excelling for goal-shy Newcastle in the Premier League.

“I feel like if I had behaved myself, I’d be up there with them,” Ranger told The Sun.

“Sometimes I watch Newcastle and know I’d definitely be playing right now, especially with how things are going for them. There are times where I have seen them play and thought: ‘I can do better than that.’

“But I can’t always hold on to that because it is done now.”

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At Newcastle, the goals did not exactly flow for Ranger - he netted just three times in 63 appearances, though in fairness a large proportion of those were as a substitute.

His best goal-scoring return at a club was at Swindon Town during the 2013-14 campaign, when he netted 10 times in 28 games, yet his career record as a whole reads: played 117, scored 17.

Hardly prolific, but Ranger believes he is an “established” professional footballer and a “natural-born talent”.

“Even though I have my baggage and my past, I am established and I am a good footballer,” he added.

“I am a natural-born talent. Everyone makes mistakes - I’ve just made more than others. But now I am ready to settle down.

“Look at Joey Barton - he has reinvented himself very well. That is someone showing you it can actually happen.

“I’ve got a nice aura about me. People might think ‘Oh he knows gangs’, but it’s far from that.

“If I made it back into the Premier League it would be a great story - you could write a book on it afterwards.”