Newcastle United's Nick Woltemade, Bruno Guimaraes, Tino Livramento and Sven Botman
Newcastle United's Nick Woltemade, Bruno Guimaraes, Tino Livramento and Sven Botman
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Newcastle United's pathway to success hasn't always been easy since the club were taken over by Saudi-backers PIF in 2021.
The takeover kicked off without a sporting director and no CEO, and arrivals and departures over the last five years have made for a rocky and uncertain route to getting deals signed off and over the line. Eddie Howe has often acted as the de facto sporting director, while Andy Howe has also been credited with deals too.
Head of recruitment Steve Nickson, former sporting director Dan Ashworth, ex-Monaco supremo Paul Mitchell and CEO Darren Eales have also been heavily involved. Ashworth's name was above the door on transfers for two years between 2022 and 2024, while Mitchell served just one season before leaving St James' Park.
Eales had to weigh in on transfers in the summer of 2024 when outgoing deals resulted in Elliot Anderson being sold for £35million while Yankuba Minteh went to Brighton & Hove Albion for £30m. In summer 2025, Newcastle operated without a sporting director or CEO.
Here's a look back at Newcastle's key signings since the takeover and who made the big calls.
Sven Botman, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Fabian Schar have played key roles in Newcastle United's defence
Sven Botman, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Fabian Schar played key roles in Newcastle United's defence
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Winter 2022
Key transfer figures: Amanda Staveley, Steve Nickson and Eddie Howe
Players signed: Kieran Tripper, Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn, Chris Wood, Matt Targett (loan)
Money spent: £86m
The Magpies had some financial headroom but no sporting director or CEO in place, meaning Howe worked closely with director Amanda Staveley and PIF to get deals done. Staveley credited Nickson for being a big help and using his expertise to steer the club through a vital window, which laid the foundations for survival as Newcastle rose from the bottom of the table to 11th to secure Premier League status.
United signed Kieran Trippier (£15m), Matt Targett (loan), Chris Wood (£25m), Dan Burn (£13m) and crucially Bruno Guimaraes (£33m). Nickson actually flew over to Brazil with former doctor Paul Catterson to get the medical done in South America.
Back then, Staveley said: "We took over the club, we were in position 20, we had no manager. "Mehrdad and I and our PIF colleagues went up to the club, and it was a lonely place.
"Fortunately, we have an amazing head of recruitment in Steve Nickson, who has been with the club for a long time and has a really deep knowledge of the player markets. "So we were able to quickly put together a transfer committee."
Howe's relationship with Trippier, who he worked with at Burnley, was key to the deal with Atletico Madrid while Burn contacted Howe by phone to express his desire to join the club. Targett and Wood's deals were wrapped by Staveley and the board.
Staveley also pushed to sign Sven Botman from Lille before helping set up the deal for later that summer.
Alexander Isak poses for photos after signing for Newcastle United at St James' Park last summer
Alexander Isak arrived in the summer of 2022(Image: Newcastle United via Getty Images)
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Summer 2022
Key transfer figures: Dan Ashworth, Eddie Howe, Steve Nickson
Players signed: Alexander Isak, Sven Botman, Matt Targett, Nick Pope
Money spent: £120m
Former FA supremo Dan Ashworth arrived on June 6, 2022, with a permanent deal for Matt Targett already agreed at £15m by Eddie Howe and Staveley.
Ashworth signed Nick Pope for £10m from Burnley and then got the Sven Botman deal done and dusted at £32million from Lille. The ex-FA chief then sanctioned the purchase of Alexander Isak for a fee of £63m from Real Sociedad.
That particular window set Newcastle up for a top four finish but there was more business to follow later that season.
Harrison Ashby (left) and Anthony Gordon (right)
Harrison Ashby (left) and Anthony Gordon (right) signed in 2023(Image: (Photo by Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images))
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Winter 2023
Key transfer figures: Dan Ashworth, Steve Nickson, Amanda Staveley and Andy Howe
Players signed: Anthony Gordon, Harrison Ashby
Money spent: £48m
Newcastle needed a winter boost as they fought for the Champions League and the Carabao Cup. And they got it when PIF sanctioned a £48m spend on Anthony Gordon from Everton and Harrison Ashby from West Ham.
Staveley is filmed during discussions for Gordon with Everton and trying to get PIF to do the deal, while Eddie Howe later credited nephew Andy Howe on both deals too. However, Ashworth oversaw the spending spree, and also gave the green light to sell Chris Wood to Nottingham Forest for £19m and Jonjo Shelvey to the City Ground club on a nominal fee but got the big earner off the wage bill at 30.
Summer 2023
Key transfer figures: Dan Ashworth, Steve Nickson, Eddie Howe and Andy Howe
Players signed: Sandro Tonali, Tino Livramento, Harvey Barnes, Yankuba Minteh, Lewis Hall (loan)
Money spent: £140m
This was a big summer for Newcastle and at the time nobody could complain about the signings of Sandro Tonali, Tino Livramento, Harvey Barnes, Yankuba Minteh and Lewis Hall (loan).
After a big spending spree of around, Newcastle sold Allan Saint-Maximin to Al-Ahli for a fee of £23m to help balance the books. But despite signing four players who have been a success and Minteh, who was sold for a massive profit, Newcastle finished seventh.
Newcastle did not sign anybody in January 2024 after Eales said: "It's a difficult window to get value when you're in the middle of the season and you are trying to bring quality in. Clubs aren't willing to, or are less willing in January, to lose those types of players."
Although the foundations for a better season had already been laid with Hall eventually arriving for a fee. Ashworth left Newcastle to join Man United in 2024.
Speaking on Andy Howe's involvement in transfers, Eddie Howe said in March 2024: "His (Andy Howe's) role has always been very prominent in recruitment. He's played a huge part in the recruitment of some key players.
"When I look at the role in recruiting Bruno, Tino Livramento, Sandro Tonali, Harrison Ashby, Anthony Gordon, he was absolutely prominent in those key signings for the football club.
"He's done an outstanding job and as I say, the title change is just recognition for what he has done."
Summer 2024
Key transfer figures: Darren Eales, Paul Mitchell and Jason Tindall
Players signed: Lewis Hall, Lloyd Kelly, William Osula, Odysseas Vlachodimos
Money spent: £70m
This is where things began to get a little bit complicated for Newcastle because of PSR. A points deduction loomed over the club in June 2024, with no sporting director in place, CEO Eales and Eddie Howe had big calls to make.
Selling Anderson and Minteh to Premier League rivals proved to be the key moves, while Anthony Gordon also came close to a sale to Liverpool. That secured around £65m but Newcastle had to buy Odysseas Vlachodimos to push through the deal for the Whitley Bay lad costing £20m.
Later that summer, Newcastle paid £15m for William Osula from Sheff United. A permanent deal for Hall went through at £35m.
This was the summer that Paul Mitchell arrived after a stint as supremo and transfer chief at Monaco. He did not appear to hit it off with the coaching team as talk of "boundaries" was pushed into airwaves by Eddie Howe. Mitchell did not actually manage to do an incoming deal for Newcastle either but was at the wheel for the sales of Miguel Almiron and Lloyd Kelly as the Magpies coined more than £20m for a loan and permanent deal.
Eddie Howe later credited former Sheff United coach Jason Tindall with the deal for Osula. Mitchell labelled the scouts at Newcastle as "unfit for purpose" during a damning public interview in late 2024.
After a slow start and first season, Osula has proved to be a good buy for Newcastle with nine goals this season.
Howe did not want to sell Anderson or Minteh but had no choice but to go along with the deals.
Newcastle United's 2025 summer signings Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Woltemade, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga
Newcastle's 2025 summer signings Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Woltemade, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga
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Summer 2025
Key figures: Andy Howe, Eddie Howe and Steve Nickson
Players signed: Anthony Elanga, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw, Aaron Ramsdale (loan), Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa.
Money spent: £240m
Last summer, Newcastle's lack of a CEO or a sporting director left the club somewhat exposed as things ran far from smoothly. The opening friendly of pre-season, a 4-0 loss at Celtic, resulted in a suited and booted Jack Ross taking a seat in the stands as head of football strategy.
But that had no bearing on what was to come as Alexander Isak went on strike to force a £125m move to Liverpool. Unfortunately, that took until the end of August, and Newcastle would miss out on deals for Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Benjamin Sesko.
It left Eddie Howe as de facto transfer chief, making the call to sign Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Malick Thiaw, Jacob Ramsey, Anthony Elanga and Aaron Ramsdale on loan. Sean Longstaff also said farewell after a £12m fee with Leeds United was agreed.
A season that has resulted in Newcastle slipping to 12th place has resulted in questions asked on recruitment. But for many fans, there is hope that a steady summer could follow with Ross Wilson and David Hopkinson now on board.
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