First, the good news. Newcastle United have retained their best players this summer. This is not a negligible achievement given those players include Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon, who are game-changers, difference-makers and much-admired elsewhere.
Now for the less good. For the second window in succession, Newcastle have failed to strengthen their first team. Once you can get away with — January is never an easy month — but twice feels problematic, particularly when the big idea is to challenge at the top of the Premier League.
Or, as Alan Shearer, the club’s record goalscorer, described it, “embarrassing”.
Newcastle’s most expensive signing? Lewis Hall, who they committed to buying 12 months earlier. The second-most expensive? That is understood to be Odysseas Vlachodimos (his fee was never confirmed), a goalkeeper who was on nobody’s list a couple of months ago and who was brought in to ensure Newcastle satisfied the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
If 2024 has been a year when reality has crashed head-first into Newcastle’s post-takeover existence, when Amanda Staveley, their agent of change, made a tearful farewell, and when selling has suddenly become as vital as buying, that does not adequately explain why their business has been so underwhelming.
Not when they spent a wearing, fruitless month in pursuit of Marc Guehi, a player Crystal Palace always valued above £65million ($85.5m). Not when the window shut without Newcastle improving their priority positions. This cannot be painted as a triumph.
Here is Darren Eales, Newcastle’s chief executive, speaking in July: “With that new (PSR) cycle ahead of us now, how can we look to strengthen? How can we look to go to the next level?”
Here is Paul Mitchell, their new sporting director, talking the same month: “I always go into every window (saying), ‘How can we make the team better, how can we make the team more set up to win?’. So that’s the challenge this window.”
All of those questions have been answered: they haven’t.
“We were told by Darren Eales and Paul Mitchell that they were going to sign players,” Shearer tells The Athletic. “To do so little does not reflect well on them at all. Every single club who will be in and around fighting with Newcastle this season has improved significantly. It’s very, very disappointing.”
Howe did not sugarcoat that aspect. “If your competition is improving and you’re not, then that is a huge concern,” he said.
On and off the pitch, the narrative around Newcastle has been one of disquiet, from the boardroom to the manager’s office to the dressing room, where some players have felt vulnerable or expendable. “There has been so much uncertainty in the squad,” said one senior source, speaking anonymously, like others quoted in this article, to discuss club strategy openly.
In that regard, the window closing is positive because it provides some clarity. Howe has a fine team and a good squad and he is an exceptional coach. They can all now refocus.
Howe will be relieved to have kept Anthony Gordon (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Yet it also leaves Howe short, particularly in Guehi’s position. Good players relish competition, good clubs understand when to strengthen and refresh and even exceptional coaches need to demonstrate progress. This is how the equation works; come here or stay here and I’ll make you better. Come here to be part of a project. Come here to win.
Supporters, too, have played their part in the equation, stomaching price-rises for tickets and buying new replica kits.
While Newcastle insist their long-term ambitions remain intact and that their guiding principle is to “do things right”, which includes fiscal responsibility, there is still no new stadium or training ground and no more difference-makers have arrived. It means, once again, it falls back to Howe and his powers of alchemy.
Whatever the context, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that, in the short term at least, Howe has been undermined. “You can make an argument for that,” he said when asked if his squad was weaker than last season. How does that correspond to Eales saying, “It’s a big year for us… we expect to really be in Europe”?
If the idea is to avoid wasting resources on inferior players, then fair enough. If it is to try again in January or go big next summer, then OK, but it still represents a risk. Football feeds off momentum and although Newcastle are unbeaten over their opening three matches, each has been a struggle. Everybody needed and expected a lift.
After almost three years of uplift and unity, of avoiding relegation, of charging to a cup final and reaching the top four, it was faintly astonishing to hear Howe say, “What we can’t do as a football club is tear ourselves apart,” even if that was a statement of the obvious rather than a premonition of doom.
It was also the language of an unlamented era and it accompanied another familiar sensation; while there was a late toss of the dice with a failed move for Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga, not for the first time in Newcastle’s modern history, deadline day rolled by like tumbleweed in a desert.
“It just feels like transfer windows of old,” says Alex Hurst of the True Faith podcast. “Money to spend but no money spent, weeks of speculation about the same players, an irate manager having to answer questions on things outside his control — stuff we thought we’d never have to experience again. There are no upsides to this.”
Over the past three months, The Athletic has spoken to well-placed contacts to tell the story of the summer transfer window, granting them anonymity so they could speak freely. This is what happened.
This was not the summer anyone envisaged. In April, Newcastle had a clear idea of what was required, even with the spectre of the PSR deadline.
Two centre-backs, a right-sided forward and a second-choice goalkeeper were the priorities. A striker and a third-choice goalkeeper were also desired. Wider than that, Howe believed it essential to appoint a quality sporting director as soon as possible.
By July 4, Newcastle had made four signings — including Hall — and raised more than £65m by selling Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson, while Mitchell had been confirmed as sporting director. Yet, aside from William Osula, a third-choice striker, joining on August 8, Newcastle failed to bring in anyone else. For the final month, Newcastle embarked upon a very public (not their doing), curious and ultimately futile crusade for Guehi, a failure that has defined their summer.
How they got to this point and what has happened — and not happened — is complex and anything but linear.
Senior figures always acknowledged this was a “big window”, not necessarily a transformative summer, but an “important one”. With 11 players entering the final year of their deals, there was an acceptance Newcastle needed to move people out and bring in “quality, game-changing” additions.
The failure to qualify for Europe meant the squad needed trimming, so Paul Dummett and Matt Ritchie were released, but selling others was not straightforward, especially before June 30. Offers would have been considered for Matt Targett, Callum Wilson, Kieran Trippier, Miguel Almiron and Martin Dubravka, but no serious bids arrived.
Regardless, a confidence was expressed that Newcastle did have the capacity to augment Howe’s squad. There was a need to be “savvy”, one person familiar with the club’s thinking said, while another insisted Newcastle’s approach had to be “dynamic and creative”.
Part of the strategy was to target Premier League-experienced free agents. With Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles sidelined until late 2024, two defenders were sought, with Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly and Fulham’s Tosin Adarabioyo fitting their needs. Kelly’s versatility at left-back and centre-half was attractive and Tosin could finally provide a ball-playing alternative to Fabian Schar.
While Kelly was secured, Newcastle’s early move for Tosin was hijacked by Chelsea, which left figures inside St James’ “really pissed off”. Tosin choosing Chelsea had a profound effect on Newcastle’s window. The indication had been that most of their budget would be used on a right-winger, but now, ideally, it needed to stretch to another centre-half. Even so, Newcastle persisted with their ambitious plan to lure their top right-winger target.
In early June, Newcastle received permission to speak with Michael Olise, after meeting his Crystal Palace release clause of around £50m. The 22-year-old chose to join Bayern Munich, but the wages required to secure Olise were well beyond Newcastle’s salary structure anyway.
When referencing the false impression some observers still hold about Newcastle’s perceived wealth, one source remarked wryly, “We couldn’t even get someone in from Crystal Palace.” The same sentiment could be applied to Dougie Freedman, the sporting director who rejected Newcastle in May, and Guehi. Newcastle’s intended goalkeeping restructure also proved far from straightforward.
Vlachodimos was a PSR-prompted arrival at Newcastle (Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)
In spring, a genuine rival for the No 1 jersey was considered. Checks were made on Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale and Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili, but once Nick Pope proved his fitness after shoulder surgery, Newcastle targeted a different profile of goalkeeper. A backup who could provide competition and, longer term, succeed Pope was sought. Newcastle opened negotiations with Burnley for James Trafford in early June but paused after Burnley demanded more than £20m.
The intention had been to revive those discussions — and Newcastle considered doing so after Mitchell watched Trafford at the Stadium of Light last weekend — but the goalkeeper restructure was affected by the PSR fallout. John Ruddy had agreed to replace the departed Loris Karius before Vlachodimos became a necessary purchase to facilitate Anderson’s sale.
That left Newcastle with five senior goalkeepers, two signed this summer, and yet that department has not actually been strengthened… despite Forest valuing Vlachodimos at £20m.
Post-PSR and once Mitchell arrived, multiple sources described Newcastle as being “back to square one” recruitment-wise as the new hierarchy recalibrated. The desire to bring in players who improved the first XI remained, but Newcastle’s strategy changed, partly out of necessity and partly by design.
Wilson’s back injury hampered any prospects of an exit yet, given his fitness record, Newcastle needed another forward. Dominic Calvert-Lewin had been close to joining in June as part of a proposed swap deal with Everton for Minteh, but that was largely PSR-driven.
Howe wanted a younger striker who would accept their status behind Isak. It was Mitchell who led the acquisition of Osula from Sheffield United for an initial £10m. The players’ representatives unusually found out about the approach only once a fee was agreed. The 21-year-old is primarily seen as a raw “project player” rather than someone who will make an immediate impact.
If West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen, Chelsea’s Noni Madueke and Elanga were among the right-wingers to appear on recruitment lists — Newcastle even asked about the latter during talks with Forest over Anderson, and then again on deadline day when Almiron was floated as a makeweight in addition to a £30m fee — by August, the focus had shifted.
Rather than split their budget, Mitchell wanted to set aside most of their budget on a defender. A loan deal for a winger would have worked, possibly with an obligation to buy, but the finances were diverted towards pursuing Guehi.
Guehi was not the only centre-back target Howe sanctioned. AC Milan’s Malick Thiaw was admired, Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba has long been tracked, and others were discussed — but Newcastle’s recruitment staff watched Guehi regularly last season and at Euro 2024 and Mitchell believed he could secure a deal.
Newcastle failed in their bid to get Marc Guehi (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Dialogue was opened while Newcastle were touring Japan and Palace’s hierarchy were at the Navy Marine Corps Stadium in Maryland for their pre-season friendly with Wolves on July 31. Steve Parish, Palace’s chairman, made it clear that Guehi was valued at around £70m, but Newcastle’s opening offer was closer to £50m.
Over the following month, on-off conversations took place and offers were made, though the volume of actual bids became a point of contention, with as many as four claimed (a figure Newcastle dispute).
Rather than reduce their demands — Parish insisted the 24-year-old warranted a “superstar” fee — Palace bullishly named Guehi as captain for their first three fixtures. When Schar was sent off against Southampton in Newcastle’s opener, Palace’s position strengthened.
Puzzlingly, there was a confidence emanating from Newcastle’s hierarchy that a deal would get done. Guehi, they believed, wanted to join but, desperate not to return to a fraught PSR situation, Newcastle were unwilling to go above £65m.
As time dragged on, contingencies were explored. Contact was made with Leverkusen for Tapsoba, but a deal never appeared realistic. Chelsea’s Axel Disasi was proposed but some at Newcastle were not convinced he would improve the team. Newcastle threatening to pivot elsewhere did not force a softening at Palace, however, and negotiations remained deadlocked.
Although Howe was desperate for a centre-back and there was a unanimous view that Guehi would improve Newcastle, a similar consensus was not reached on attainable alternatives.
Newcastle point to how Liverpool and Arsenal reacted following their failed pursuits of Martin Zubimendi and Benjamin Sesko. Rather than make panic buys, they opted to wait for the ‘right player’. They considered other centre-backs, but Newcastle felt the same about Guehi.
Newcastle did sign William Osula (Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)
The drumbeat for the past few months has been discomfort. “It’s going to be our hardest summer,” Howe said in April, citing “unknown factors”. That was a reference to Newcastle being obliged to meet their PSR requirements, the £100m release clause in Guimaraes’ contract and the challenge of finding better players.
By mid-July, with Newcastle ensconced at Adidas headquarters in Germany, Howe’s prophecy had been fulfilled, at least from his perspective. “It has been a very difficult summer for everyone connected with the club,” he said.
Co-owners Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi — Howe’s biggest allies at the top of the club and who were pivotal to doing deals — had just sold their minority shareholding and the head coach had been unaware of Mitchell’s appointment until shortly beforehand.
On Newcastle’s race to comply with PSR, Howe said, “It was a really difficult time. There was a lot of uncertainty and we didn’t know what was going to happen.” Before their opener with Southampton, Howe spoke about, “the most difficult window I’ve experienced”. Unpicking all this difficulty is… well, difficult, yet it has been the first window post-takeover where doubt has had fertile ground to grow.
“We’re not stupid, we’d seen all the stuff with financial fair play and who was on the table and who wasn’t on the table. The way it seemed, everyone had their price,” Sean Longstaff said in Japan.
Howe’s position was also less clear. Staveley and Ghodoussi had been a safety net, a source of information and support. Now, under Mitchell, relationships were recast and Howe was on the outside; when he said he did not know what was happening with transfers, it was not bluster. On Friday, he admitted this has been his “most hands-off window”.
While it was not a reflection on Mitchell’s ability — and the sporting director always faced a challenging introduction given he was only appointed on July 4 — this shift was what Howe was alluding to in Germany when he responded to a question of whether he would still be in his role for the start of the season. “As long as I’m happy in the position that I’m in. As long as I feel supported and free to work in the way I want to work,” he said.
The PSR debacle left Howe particularly bruised. Everybody at Newcastle had known this moment was approaching, with directors warning ad nauseam from the moment they bought the club that financial rules were an issue they could not ignore. Yet by the time each window came around, they spent more than they envisaged.
By January, fear had taken grip. Everton’s initial 10-point deduction for breaching PSR — later reduced to six points — focused minds across the Premier League and meant Newcastle could not bolster their injury-riven squad. Raising funds was not easy; there were no takers for Almiron and although there were bids from Bayern Munich for Trippier, they decided they could not afford to lose his experience.
Newcastle have been poor sellers for years, retaining players rather than refreshing and trouble was being stored up. Despite that, the opening of the market on June 14 brought a fortnight of strain that nobody had quite anticipated. It was “a window of two windows”, as one source put it.
Minteh and Anderson, two young players of huge potential, finally left for Brighton and Forest — Staveley fronted the Minteh sale — bringing in good money, but the relief was tempered. “No sensible football club in Europe would be flogging Minteh and Anderson unless they had to,” said one person with knowledge of the situation. It was also a desperately close call.
On the morning of June 29, Newcastle were still staring at a £60m shortfall; internally, they were talking about a 10-point deduction. Afterwards, some figures at the club spoke about using the media as a smokescreen, insisting reports linking Liverpool with Gordon and Chelsea with Isak were largely intended to flush out Brighton and Forest, but this was viewed very differently by others.
Mitchell and Eales had a difficult summer (Serena Taylor/Newcastle United/Getty Images)
Before Brighton’s interest was established, Minteh had rejected a £40m move to Lyon, causing huge “frustration and annoyance” on Tyneside and, for a little while, Newcastle were flailing. Talks with Liverpool over deals for Gordon and Joe Gomez, who would have signed for Newcastle, were advanced enough for payment terms to be discussed. “That was when we were at our most vulnerable,” a high-ranking figure says.
“It was horrific — the worst period I’ve ever experienced in football,” another source says, reflecting a view shared by others. “We were facing a massive points deduction. It would have been carnage.”
While that did not happen, the concern at Newcastle was that Gordon’s head had been turned by Liverpool, who he supported as a boy, and through no fault of his own, Howe would be left to pick up the pieces.
How would Gordon feel now? What about Isak? One senior source explained: “There was only one conversation with Chelsea, they enquired and then walked away because it would have taken massive money. It was never going anywhere and we wanted him to stay.”
In some regards, July provided reassurance. Newcastle had kept their biggest stars and Guimaraes’ clause had not been triggered.
Yet Trippier, a standard-bearer under Howe, had already been exploring a move away and was left hurt by his demotion to vice-captain in Guimaraes’ favour. Almiron was aware Newcastle had been seeking to sell him. Ultimately, they both stayed, as did Dubravka and Wilson, senior players who had been expected to leave. All of them are great professionals, but the uncertainty is hardly ideal at a club whose USP has been unity.
This has been new territory for Newcastle and Howe, their first unsettling window. “That’s a fair comment,” he said. “That’s probably something that may well exist here for the foreseeable future.”
Trading had always been part of this summer’s plan. In July, Eales said about PSR, “We do not want to be leaving ourselves in that situation again in such tight circumstances,” but while there was no scramble in the second half of this two-window window, there was no big signing either.
“We’re in a really difficult situation with PSR, available funds and attracting the right players who can make a difference. It’s such a delicate spot, we’ve got to get it right — and doing nothing, as frustrating as that is, is probably the best option,” Howe said.
Until January, the difficulty is all his.
(Top photos: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
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