Newcastle United’s midfield needs a revamp in this summer transfer window after everything we have seen transpire over the past few months. The club first sanctioned the £100 million transfer of Sandro Tonali to Tottenham Hotspur. Then, club captain Bruno Guimarars, joined Spurs’ North London rivals, Arsenal, in a £75 million move.
That has left a hole in the Newcastle United midfield department. And it is one that is going to be difficult to fill. At the end of the day, players of Tonali and Guimaraes’ quality are not readily available.
For some reason, Newcastle United have completely shifted their focus towards signing youngsters this summer. They have brought in 18-year-old Sean Steur from Ajax and 20-year-old Aladji Bamba to strengthen their midfield.
Earlier this evening, I reported on [Newcastle United finding an agreement with Ousmane Diabate](https://readnewcastle.com/2026/08/19/newcastle-united-agree-deal-sign-midfielder-medical-booked/). And now, it looks like they are closing in on another 18-year-old midfielder, this time from Barcelona.
According to a report from [Albert Fernandez](https://x.com/albertfc11/status/2090075222355362106), FC Barcelona are currently working on the transfers of youngsters while not entirely losing the option to buy them back in the future. This is the case right now with Guille Fernandez, who is close to Newcastle United.
Fernandez is 18 years of age and has not made a single senior appearance for Barcelona. He has come through their iconic La Masia ranks though and is a regular in the B team setup.
We have seen this strategy most famously being used by Real Madrid. Chances are rare for youngsters in the senior team there. So, they agree transfers of these players, while holding on to a buyback option.
If the youngster does well elsewhere, the club end up triggering that option and bringing back the player. They did it in the past with Dani Carvajal and Casemiro.
One worrying thing about any such deal is that if the player does well, it is their former club that has all the control over their future, rather than their current team.
We saw this play out with Nico Paz this summer. Real Madrid exercised their option, after his incredible breakout in Italian football.
As a result, Como ended up having to bring back the player in a €60 million deal. So, they essentially developed him at the top level and then had to pay a significant fee just to keep him.
Something similar could easily happen with Fernandez, if he does end up joining Newcastle United while Barcelona hold a buyback option.