The failed pursuit of James Trafford is indicative of Newcastle’s transfer struggles this summer, even if there was nothing they could do when Man City matched the bid. It is not good optics and it does not show sound squad planning to chase a goalkeeper for the best part of two years and miss out.
For once this summer, though, the Magpies moved quickly to secure an alternative. Reaction to the loan signing of Aaron Ramsdale last week was mixed, so is this a pragmatic and sensible move or is it a sign of a club flailing and panicking in the transfer market?
Before getting onto Ramsdale let’s look at why Newcastle were in the market for a goalkeeper despite at the time of the signing having five on the books already:
Nick Pope has overall been an excellent addition since joining from Burnley in 2022. His shot stopping is up there with the best in the league, and nobody will forget his save in the Carabao Cup Final, but he has had injury problems restricting his availability across the last two seasons. His distribution is also the one glaring weakness in his game which is a problem for a team that wants to gain more control of games. At 33 Pope is probably past his best and he at least needs some competition for the gloves.
Martin Dubravka filled in admirably for Pope last season, but the 36-year-old realistically was nowhere near the level required any more even as a backup. His time at St James’ came to an end as he joined Burnley. Poor Odysseas Vlachodimos will be used in future case studies of what a shambles PSR was, with the £20m signing never anywhere near troubling the first team. If he can’t be sold permanently for accounting reasons he will be shipped out on loan this window (Sevilla seems to be most likely the destination). That leaves John Ruddy who is there is third choice and Mark Gillespie who has been retained for his training standards and positive influence on the group.
This all amounted to Newcastle needing a new goalkeeper either as a clear first choice or genuine competition.
As we have painfully discovered this transfer window, Newcastle are not operating off the pitch as an elite outfit. They are not at the stage of spending big money and wages on an established top-class goalkeeper who can transform the way the team plays. That’s why the pursuit of potential future England no. 1 for the next decade, James Trafford, made sense. He would have come at a decent price point without even the expectation of starting games straight away, but as has been the case so often this summer, Newcastle missed out to a more illustrious rival.
So, onto five-time England international **Aaron Ramsdale**.
Ramsdale has had an interesting career starting out at Sheffield United before a move to Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth in 2017. A couple of loans followed, then Ramsdale was Bournemouth’s first choice goalkeeper for 2019/20. Despite the relegation he was voted as Bournemouth supporters’ player of the year, and he made a £18m switch back to promoted Sheffield United.
History repeated the next season as Ramsdale was part of a relegated team but recognised for his strong performances with Sheffield United’s player of the year award.
Those two seasons of Premier League football alerted Arsenal, who signed then 23-year-old Ramsdale for a fee potentially rising to £30m as their first-choice goalkeeper for 2021/22. The first of five England caps followed in November 2021.
Arsenal finished 5th in Ramsdale’s first season before making a title push in 2022/23, ultimately missing out to Manchester City. Ramsdale was named in the PFA Team of the Season for 2022/23, which didn’t stop Arteta surprisingly replacing him as first choice with David Raya for the following season.
Rather than judging players on highlight reels it’s always worth considering the insights of supporters of clubs they have played for. Ramsdale remains very popular with Arsenal fans despite some high-profile mistakes. He had a positive influence in the Gunners’ dressing room and had some outstanding performances for them.
Areas for concern were around his concentration (something he has admitted himself to struggling with) and command of his box at set piece situations. His shot-stopping has never been in question and his passing and ball-playing ability, while perhaps not at the elite level, will be a significant upgrade on Nick Pope.
Rather than loiter on the bench for another season, Ramsdale joined a promoted team again for 2024/25 with Southampton securing his signature for more than £20m. For the third time in his career, he was relegated from the Premier League.
Although being part of a relegated team doesn’t look good on paper, football is littered with examples of players (and managers) who have suffered relegations with no negative long-term impact on their career. In recent years Newcastle have picked up the likes of Pope, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento from relegated clubs. Newcastle themselves sold players after relegation, such as Gini Wijnaldum, who ended up as Champions League winners. Eddie Howe himself and even Jurgen Klopp experienced relegations as coaches.
Ramsdale’s record in this regard is clearly influenced by the fact he twice joined promoted clubs that were odds on to go back down. It could be viewed as a positive marker for his character that he took a chance on going to these clubs as no. 1 rather than kicking his heels on the bench of another team. As evidenced by his personal awards and subsequent moves, the relegations were in no way his responsibility. Let’s not also forget that James Trafford was relegated and indeed was dropped during his one Premier League season to date.
Newcastle have tracked Ramsdale for multiple years. Eddie Howe (who knows a thing or two about football) rates him highly and knows he will slot straight into the squad. Although incoming transfer business has been painfully slow this summer so far, a glance at the transfer business that has happened since the takeover shows the benefits of the careful and diligent approach taken in the transfer market, with almost every signing a success.
Howe’s recent comments about only signing “the right players at the right price” and “not acting out of character” indicate that as far as possible there will be no panic and no major deviation from what has largely served the club well with recruitment post-takeover.
Not every transfer has to be ‘transformative’ and there is always a place for sensible squad additions. An England international goalkeeper not in his prime yet falls squarely into the sensible basket.
Ramsdale has already made a good impression with his penalty save against Espanyol, but the lukewarm reaction when the interest was first revealed was likely as much a timing issue as anything else – if there had been concrete movement on a shiny new striker by now, for example, and a resolution to the Isak situation, the move for Ramsdale would not have garnered the same negativity it initially did in some quarters. The move actually shows a decisiveness and flexibility in moving to more attainable targets, something that the club have had to consider given the struggles in acquiring top targets.
If reports are accurate that the deal conditions are a £4m loan fee with an option for Newcastle to buy at the end of the season, this is a low risk / potential high reward transfer, and it enables funds that were earmarked for Trafford to be diverted elsewhere, with at least three or four additions needed in other parts of the squad before the transfer window closes. Newcastle could potentially have an excellent goalkeeper beyond this season if this move works out, while giving themselves some breathing room to scout and try to obtain that long-term, transformative custodian.
Newcastle have struggled to convince players to join this summer. Aaron Ramsdale jumped at the chance. Let’s trust the manager’s judgement, get behind our new goalkeeper and give him every chance to succeed.
HWTL!