Eddie Howe applauds the Newcastle fans after a matchplaceholder image
Eddie Howe applauds the Newcastle fans after a match | AFP via Getty Images
Newcastle’s best summer business could see them sign a Manchester United star - according to Football Manager.
Newcastle have had a distinctly up-and-down season so far, and their chances of making the Champions League places again are distinctly slim as it stands. Their squad, meanwhile, is starting to develop a few holes, with depth issues becoming more noticeable in some areas while big-money signings from last summer are struggling to fulfil their potential.
As such, the chances are that Newcastle will be active once more in the coming transfer window, with the gossip columns already throwing up the names of potential additions – but working out who they might buy (and how well those deals might work out) isn’t straightforward. So we decided to find out how Football Manager 2026 sees the club’s summer going, and to see who the most successful new arrival might be if the game gets things right…
The Manchester United star set to be Newcastle’s best summer buy – according to Football Manager
We span a Football Manager save all the way to the end of next season to see who Newcastle signed, and how well those deals played out, and the game certainly doesn’t think that the Magpies will be shy of spending their money this summer.
In our save, Newcastle spent just under £150m on five new players, ranging from a new starting goalkeeper in Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel to a fine new box-to-box midfielder, AS Roma’s Manu Koné, as well as a couple of solid rotational additions in the form of Billy Gilmour and left-back Samuele Angori. But the player who really made a difference was Amad Diallo…
In our game, Newcastle signed the Swedish winger from Manchester United in a loan-to-buy deal worth £44m, and he proved to be thoroughly successful, scoring seven goals in 20 starts for his new side and nailing the right wing role down ahead of Anthony Elanga.
Injuries prevented him from playing more games but United’s loss was clearly Newcastle’s gain – not least because Newcastle finished rather higher up the table than Diallo’s former side in our save. But is it a deal that stands any chance of taking place in real life, and how well has the game mirrored the Magpies’ real-life requirements?
Could Newcastle sign Diallo in real life?
Diallo hasn’t necessarily been the most impactful player in Manchester United’s line-up since Michael Carrick took charge and while still largely a regular starter, there is no particular reason to believe that they wouldn’t be open to a sale under the right circumstances, especially with their own summer refresh likely to prove highly expensive – still, there have been no stories suggesting that he is likely to move on.
Newcastle, for their part, probably do need a player in Diallo’s mould, however. Anthony Elanga has struggled to live up to his billing since arriving in the summer (recent heroics against Barcelona notwithstanding) and while Jacob Murphy continues to perform admirably, there is a sense that a new winger might be just what Eddie Howe needs to re-enliven the club’s attack.
Diallo’s pace and directness makes him just the kind of player that Howe tends to like working with, but if the gossip columns have it right then they are more likely to look at alternatives who may prove to be more obtainable – Galatasaray’s Baris Alper Yilmaz is one player who has been linked of late.
In the game, Diallo’s goals helped Newcastle to finish third while United languished back in eighth, so if Football Manager remotely reflects the real world then it could prove to be a superb signing. Whether it actually happens or not is, of course, another story.
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