Eddie Howe is expected to be backed this summer, but just how much spending power Newcastle United is not yet clear.
Last Jun, the sale of Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson ensured we complied with PSR guidelines for the previous financial period. More recently, January exits for Lloyd Kelly and Miguel Almiron have also improved our balance sheets.
A figure of £150m has been floated this week, suggesting a window that could mirror our 2023 moves for Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento, Yankuba Minteh and Lewis Hall (loan to buy), and a certain North East reporter has responded to these reports in his latest piece today.
In a Q&A for [the iPaper](https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/how-much-newcastle-could-spend-summer-transfer-window-3708465?ito=link_share_article-top), Mark Douglas has been asked about Newcastle’s spending power heading into a vital summer window for the club.
Douglas claims that a spend of around £150m would “feel realistic” and sounds confident that we will not sell any of our key first team players this summer, despite reports earlier in the week suggesting there was interest in Anthony Gordon.
Player trading remains one to watch and could be a key factor, but Douglas expects two to three ‘big deals’ as we look to bring in a goalkeeper, centre-back, right winger and striker, along with a few Paul Mitchell inspired ‘project’ players.
Read the segment of the Q&A below, which sees Douglas explain why a similar summer to 2023 may be on the cards.
**Question: With the sales of Kelly and Almiron, how much do you think the club have to play with in terms of budget? I’ve heard similar to summer 2023, and then they’ll consider the sale of a Barnes, Willock or Longstaff to take spending north of £150m. Would you say that’s correct? – James**
Answer: “Newcastle’s approach under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has always been that they will spend what they can. So if headroom hovers around £100m, I think a spend of around £150m feels realistic.
“But the word from St James’ Park remains that player trading is a vital component of their business. Howe is reluctant to sell big players – in terms of proper first-teamers who have been sold there is probably only Allan Saint-Maximin that caused a stir externally even if the manager was happy to sanction the deal – and with Newcastle not under pressure it will be interesting to see what happens.
“I floated the idea of further interest in Anthony Gordon earlier this week with Chelsea, Arsenal and possibly Liverpool still keen. But it still feels to me as if there are too many moving parts in that to make a deal at £80m (the only price it would make sense to sell at given PSR) – and he has got a big part to play at Newcastle still.
“Joe Willock and Harvey Barnes are interesting because in a Champions League campaign (or any type of European campaign) you can’t really afford to let players who might play 15 to 20 Premier League games go because they are likely to be needed with a schedule of three games in a week.
“It would really depend on the sort of offers you receive, and I’m not sure if anyone is meeting Newcastle’s valuation. The irony about player trading is that the ones you could make a profit on are exactly the sort Newcastle don’t want to let go.”
Later in the Q&A, Douglas added: “My suspicion is that this summer will mirror 2023, especially if Newcastle are in the top five. There will be two or three big deals that really take the club forward – a centre-back, right-sided forward and either a goalkeeper or forward to replace Callum Wilson – and then the rest might depend on outgoings or whether they can get the “project” players they are after.”
Newcastle are set for an ambitious summer in which we must not miss the opportunity to kick on as a club and investment in a number of key position.
A striker is wanted to compete with Alexander Isak, with 33-year-old Callum Wilson out of contract in the summer and Will Osula tipped to depart on loan – and possibly not quite ready to fill in to the shoes of our Swedish talisman.
Almiron’s departure in January, following that of Minteh last summer, left Jacob Murphy as the club’s only ‘natural’ right-winger. This simply has to be a priority signing as we prepare to compete on multiple fronts, with Bryan Mbeumo a name heavily linked.
Fabian Schar and Dan Burn have been rock solid again this season and we’ll be in no rush to move them on. However, both are 33 and with Sven Botman’s injury problems causing some concern, we need some young legs at centre-back, with an athletic right-sided option set to be pursued. Marc Guehi, perhaps?
Finally, a younger goalkeeper that is comfortable with the ball at his feet. Nick Pope’s shot-stopping prowess is amongst the best in the league, but his distribution has never been a strong point, limiting our ability to play out from the back.
James Trafford has been a longstanding favourite of Eddie Howe and is one that would not come as a surprise to arrive this summer. Espanyol’s Joan Garcia may be another one to watch should a deal for Trafford not be reached.