Many fans and pundits have criticised or made fun of Newcastle’s summer, pointing to the series of ‘rejections’ or Alexander Isak’s exit.
However, some are now coming round to the idea of Eddie Howe’s side going into the 2025/26 season far stronger than how we ended the previous campaign.
Jeff Stelling is one of those, as he makes a series of good points as he and Ally McCoist assess which clubs had the best summer a week on from the window shutting.
Ahead of the return of Premier League action this weekend, we’re going to see a number of big names finally play for their new clubs after what was a dramatic deadline day weekend.
And now it’s all said and done, Stelling believes that we’ve had a very good window all things considered, with only Liverpool and Spurs enjoying a stronger window in his eyes.
“They’re a team who’ve been in the news constantly for may of the wrong reasons, and that’s Newcastle United. They missed out on Joao Pedro, they missed out on Bryan Mbeumo, they missed out on Sesko, they’ve sold Isak, but look at the players they’ve brought in!”
“They’ve brought in two strikers for less than the money they got for Isak: Wissa and Woltemade. They’ve also brought in Jacob Ramsey, quality player. Anthony Elanga, quality player. Malick Thiaw at the back. They’ve got Ramsdale on loan.”
“I think Newcastle after this transfer window, even without Isak, I think they are stronger than they were before the window…and they’ve got a cracking squad.”
Whilst this summer transfer window will mostly be remembered for Isak’s departure, it cannot be understated just how much of an improvement we’ve made ahead of our return to the Champions League.
Where the last UCL campaign was one marred by injuries and insufficient squad depth, it would take some truly extraordinary bad luck to put Eddie Howe and the boys in a similar situation.
Malick Thiaw is an experienced upgrade on Lloyd Kelly whose previous Champions League pedigree with AC Milan should prove to be very helpful. Ditto Jacob Ramsey and his European experiences with Aston Villa last season.
And it’s in attack that we’ve enjoyed the healthiest upgrade to the squad: only time will tell as to whether or not we’ve fully replaced Isak in terms of goalscoring performance, but Yoane Wissa matched him for non-penalty goals in the league last season.
Anthony Elanga was the first marquee name through the door, and though he hasn’t enjoyed the most clinical start to life on Tyneside, fans are already enamoured with his blistering pace and drive.
And if new boy Nick Woltemade manages even just a single league goal this campaign, then he will have already eclipsed Callum Wilson’s tally for the 24/25 season.
After the frustrating first three games to the season, you can sense stellar performances and huge results are on the horizon for us, and you’d fancy the new signings like Wissa and Woltemade in particular to be a big reason why.