Transfers, 2024-25 season

[Dazzler 13041]

3 minutes ago, wykikitoon said:

Amen mother fuckers. 

There is every chance he doesn't want to say too much in case a doylem (not naming names, but he's from Yorkshire) misconstrues it

[RobinRobin 13201]

2 minutes ago, Dazzler said:

There is every chance he doesn't want to say too much in case a doylem (not naming names, but he's from Yorkshire) misconstrues it

'appen

[ewerk 34892]

The ‘Hot Mitch summer’.

 

[wykikitoon 24280]

CN aka. Casey is on it. 

[Craig 7996]

1 hour ago, wykikitoon said:

Amen mother fuckers. 

Elanga and Osula have been really good mates for years apparently. 

[Dr Gloom 24556]

1 hour ago, wykikitoon said:

CN aka. Casey is on it. 

 

like i said  

 

what happened to the chump? did he finally tire of making himself look a monumental tit? 

[Dr Gloom 24556]

1 hour ago, ewerk said:

The ‘Hot Mitch summer’.

 

 

[PaddockLad 20151]

On 15/06/2025 at 11:52, wykikitoon said:

Interesting watch 

 

 

 

@Dr Gloom  go to 6:50 on that video. I agree with this lad about Pedro, not sure if I've seen him play wide too often. I've seen him at 10 and 9. If we get Elanga and don't sell anyone we don't really need him to cover the flanks either. That's an absolute best case scenario obviously...

[Dr Gloom 24556]

34 minutes ago, PaddockLad said:

 

@Dr Gloom  go to 6:50 on that video. I agree with this lad about Pedro, not sure if I've seen him play wide too often. I've seen him at 10 and 9. If we get Elanga and don't sell anyone we don't really need him to cover the flanks either. That's an absolute best case scenario obviously...

yeah, he’s not an out and out winger in the way Elanga is but he has played out there. Elanga can play off either flank too so both signings make sense in terms of squad depth because they’re both versatile.

 

Tbh, neither of them would be my first choice. Semenyo has been rumoured to be up for sale for a similar price to what forest want for Elanga. I like Pedro but also can’t help but think there is better value available abroad. But if Howe wants them, fair fucks. He knows more than I do. 

[PaddockLad 20151]

48 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

yeah, he’s not an out and out winger in the way Elanga is but he has played out there. Elanga can play off either flank too so both signings make sense in terms of squad depth because they’re both versatile.

 

Tbh, neither of them would be my first choice. Semenyo has been rumoured to be up for sale for a similar price to what forest want for Elanga. I like Pedro but also can’t help but think there is better value available abroad. But if Howe wants them, fair fucks. He knows more than I do. 

 

If a player is cheap and foreign they're also likely to be inexperienced . Think Howe maybe  wants premier league proven in certain positions. The young ones have turned us down lately, eg Kushanov, Tosin..there are others...

[Kid Dynamite 8085]

Tosin has hardly pulled up trees at Chelsea tbf. 

[RobElliott 2085]

22 minutes ago, Kid Dynamite said:

Tosin has hardly pulled up trees at Chelsea tbf. 

 

Still dipping his Tosin IMO

 

[Sonatine 12491]

46 minutes ago, RobElliott said:

 

Still dipping his Tosin IMO

 

[Dr Gloom 24556]

chel just have to wait and sea how he develops 

 

[strawb 4910]

Isn’t Tosin about 27?

[PaddockLad 20151]

4 minutes ago, Kid Dynamite said:

Tosin has hardly pulled up trees at Chelsea tbf. 

 

Not the point though. He got what he felt was a better offer.  Last year's summer  window would've looked vastly different if we'd signed him. No pointless chasing of Guehi would've meant we'd have likely got someone to play on the right...

 

How did Etikike get on after he declined a move to us then sat on the bench at PSG?..again the point is he passed on us. So have quite a few others. Not sure if we put a bid in for Kvaratskhelia but we were linked with him long before anyone else was. We do seem to identify good young talent with Nickson & his team but we're not top of the list for many of them to join tbh. 

[PaddockLad 20151]

2 hours ago, strawb said:

Isn’t Tosin about 27?

 

yeah...I thought he was younger than that....

 

 

[Chaser 1466]

3 hours ago, PaddockLad said:

 

Not the point though. He got what he felt was a better offer.  Last year's summer  window would've looked vastly different if we'd signed him. No pointless chasing of Guehi would've meant we'd have likely got someone to play on the right...

 

How did Etikike get on after he declined a move to us then sat on the bench at PSG?..again the point is he passed on us. So have quite a few others. Not sure if we put a bid in for Kvaratskhelia but we were linked with him long before anyone else was. We do seem to identify good young talent with Nickson & his team but we're not top of the list for many of them to join tbh. 

Must be the weird London pull although I'm never sure how players want to go to Manchester either as the place is an absolute shit hole. It's closer to London and might have better transport links from the airport but I much prefer Newcastle as a city (and I don't live in it). 

[Rayvin 6672]

Tosin is on 120k a week at Chelsea. I think stuff like that is probably a factor too tbh.

[Kid Dynamite 8085]

Manchester is a cool city tbf.

[Dougle 3942]

20 minutes ago, Kid Dynamite said:

Manchester is a cool city tbf.

 

When  you earn £120k per week why would you give a fuck where you lived when you can go anywhere the fuck you want within a couple of hours.?

[RobinRobin 13201]

15 hours ago, ewerk said:

The ‘Hot Mitch summer’.

 

[OTF 8972]

1 hour ago, RobinRobin said:

[Holden McGroin 8233]

7 hours ago, Chaser said:

Must be the weird London pull although I'm never sure how players want to go to Manchester either as the place is an absolute shit hole. It's closer to London and might have better transport links from the airport but I much prefer Newcastle as a city (and I don't live in it). 

Manchester is nice and some surrounding areas are decent (although some shocking places as well).

 

Liverpool on the other hand. What a shit hole.

[PaddockLad 20151]

Chris Waugh, in many ways THE FORGOTTEN WAUGH 😆✊

 

There is a common trait connecting the majority of Newcastle United’s (known) transfer targets.

Some supporters are perplexed — given the lack of a senior signing and Eddie Howe’s end-of-season warning that Newcastle needed to act “very quickly” — by what is perceived to be the head coach’s unbending desire to acquire Premier League-based players. The inference is that Howe has an apparent reluctance to bring in foreign imports this summer.

 

Take @alanofthenorth on Bluesky: “Why is a club that successfully signed (Alexander) Isak, (Bruno) Guimaraes and (Sandro) Tonali now so dead-set on PL (Premier League) additions, only to then complain when these are too expensive and we don’t sign anybody.”

The last point refers to Newcastle’s frustration at what they deem to be excessive early benchmarking of targets. They expect prices to come down, but the riposte of some frustrated supporters is that, if the fees are too high domestically, look to the Continent.

It appears a fair response, given Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Joao Pedro (Brighton), James Trafford (Burnley), Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) and Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest) play in England and Newcastle have yet to agree a fee — or make a bid — for any, partly due to present asking prices.

But those with knowledge of Newcastle’s transfer blueprint contest the hypothesis that Howe has a preoccupation with Premier League players, even if the likelihood is that the bulk of summer recruits will come from domestic clubs.

 

For Howe, they stress, it is about the right player at the right price.

Four of Howe’s six most-expensive signings came from Europe for a combined £183million ($248m), including the top two: Isak (a club-record £60m) and Tonali (£55m). Alongside Guimaraes and Sven Botman, they have justified the significant investment.

Newcastle's post-takeover signings

PlayerSigned fromCost

Alexander Isak

Real Sociedad

£60m

Sandro Tonali

AC Milan

£55m

Anthony Gordon

Everton

£40m

Harvey Barnes

Leicester City

£38m

Bruno Guimaraes

Lyon

£38m

Sven Botman

Lille

£32m

Tino Livramento

Southampton

£31m

Lewis Hall

Chelsea

£28m

Chris Wood

Burnley

£25m

Odysseas Vlachodimos

Nottingham Forest

£21m

Matt Targett

Aston Villa

£15m

Dan Burn

Brighton & Hove Albion

£13m

Kieran Trippier

Atletico Madrid

£12m

Nick Pope

Burnley

£11m

William Osula

Sheffield United

£10m

Although only five of the 15 players signed for a fee have been acquired from abroad, which drops to four when already-Premier League-experienced Kieran Trippier is discounted, that quartet accounts for almost 45 per cent of Newcastle’s post-takeover expenditure (once goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos’ £20million paper value is excluded).

When it comes to this summer, the word “known” is important in the opening line. Newcastle’s desired list extends beyond those in the public domain and the insistence is that Howe has been actively discussing overseas-based players as recently as the past few days, including centre-backs and attackers (while Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier is a potential alternative to Trafford).

 

Their identities remain concealed, much to the delight of some insiders, given Newcastle swooped and successfully signed Tonali and Isak with little media preamble.

In three of the first four post-takeover windows — which preceded the three successive trading periods in which Newcastle were unable to make first-XI signings due to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) — at least one overseas acquisition was made: Guimaraes in January 2022; Isak and Botman in that summer; Tonali a year later.

 

Regardless, the premise put forward by some Newcastle fans is not inaccurate. Most, if not even possibly all, of Newcastle’s summer additions may still arrive from English clubs.

But, again, the thesis that Newcastle will do so because Howe has an unhealthy predilection for those who have played in England would be strongly disputed by the head coach. The claim irks him because it is, he believes, built on faulty assumptions.

When faced with a recruitment call which directly pits a Premier League-experienced player against someone who has never played in England’s top flight, the former often wins out in Howe’s mind. The Premier League is unique, and those who have shown they can perform in the division carry less risk.

Yet that is merely one factor in Howe’s decision-making. When Guimaraes, Botman, Isak and Tonali were proposed, Premier League-hardened alternatives were also floated — some of which would have been cheaper — but Howe pushed for those four.

 

They were deemed to be the right players at the right price.

For Isak, Newcastle spent more than they intended to, at Howe’s behest. With Tonali, a senior source, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, stressed in 2023 that the “stars had aligned”, with Milan’s need to sell and Newcastle’s opportunism combining to secure what now appears a knockdown price (even considering his 10-month betting suspension).

In each case, Newcastle took a calculated gamble. Every transfer carries uncertainty, but there is an increased risk when players move country, especially when they have never played in the Premier League before.

Some in recruitment circles also dispute the theory that signing European players is significantly cheaper than signing Premier League players in this market.

In some circumstances, that is true. Manchester City spending £46.3million on Tijjani Reijnders and £34m on Rayan Cherki looks excellent business. But value is not as easily discoverable as it once was.

 

Florian Wirtz is an outstanding talent, but £116million would represent a British-record fee should he move to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen as expected, while Olympiacos have got £29.6m from Brighton for Charalampos Kostoulas, who is highly rated but is 18 and has only made 35 senior appearances. Such figures suggest European clubs are standing firmer against the richest league.

Those deals may represent good value in time, but Newcastle’s PSR constraints mean they have to limit risk wherever possible.

Take Hugo Ekitike, a player Newcastle tried to sign in January 2022. Eintracht Frankfurt are reportedly holding out for €100million (£85m) for him this summer. Newcastle still admire Ekitike, yet do not feel they can countenance such a fee for an admittedly high-quality player, but one who has yet to perform in England.

Joao Pedro may be a less-sexy name — and may still prove expensive — but the suspicion is he would cost less than Ekitike, even if no asking price has been set by Brighton.

Newcastle have found wages a stumbling block. They admire players at Champions League clubs across Europe, but their salaries would place them among (or above) Newcastle’s highest earners.

It is about balance. Most clubs blend domestic signings with imports. Manchester City (Rayan Ait-Nouri) and Liverpool (reportedly pursuing Milos Kerkez) are shopping closer to home, too.

Howe’s Newcastle have been slanted more towards domestic than overseas acquisitions. Or have Newcastle been more risk-averse than others? That is the feeling of some who have worked with Howe, and may have contributed to last year’s executive-level restructure and appointment of Paul Mitchell as sporting director — but their success rate is high.

Intra-Premier League acquisitions have often, at the time, been viewed with a certain snootiness. Anthony Gordon (Everton), Tino Livramento (Southampton), Lewis Hall (Chelsea), Dan Burn (Brighton) and Nick Pope (Burnley) were received as underwhelming signings but have blossomed.

 

The expectation is that such a trend will continue. With Newcastle having failed to strengthen the starting line-up for two years, more than ever do they require players who have the best-possible chance of making an immediate difference.

Much of Newcastle’s incoming business probably will involve Premier League-experienced players, but that is not the same as Howe saying no to overseas imports.

He wants quality and he wants to mitigate risk, so that requires a mixture of foreign and domestic acquisitions. Just as has been the case throughout his tenure.