I’m confused – Why is it only Newcastle United that fail to sign players? | OneFootball

Newcastle United have failed to sign certain players this summer.

That is, certain players who in an ideal world Eddie Howe would have liked to sign.

Nobody is disputing that.

My question though is – Why is it only Newcastle United that fail to sign players?

What I am talking about here is the way the media cover our club, compared to all the rest.

I am not talking about no other clubs failing to buy any of their transfer targets, as that would just be plain daft to claim that. Yet this is how the media have portrayed it this summer.

It is like Newcastle United are the only ones who have failed to sign players they would have ideally liked to sign.

As far as I am aware, Newcastle United have made actual formal offers to sign nine different players this summer…

Ekitike, Trafford, Pedro, Sesko, Elanga, Ramsdale, Thiaw, Ramsey and Wissa.

Three of those players have signed for Newcastle United, a fourth (Ramsey) is set to be announced any time soon, whilst a fifth (Wissa) is also expected to arrive, now that Brentford have signed one of their attacking targets from Bournemouth.

The nice problem that Newcastle United had this summer, was that they already had a trophy winning top five team in place, with only a small pool of players seen as capable of coming in and improving that first choice eleven.

As opposed to say Man U and Tottenham who fought out a battle of  who was going to finish fourth bottom of the Premier League last season, Spurs edging it on the final day of the season and ended up 17th. Fair to say that the need/desperation for those two clubs to make a lot of new first team signings was far greater than Newcastle United’s.

The Trafford non-signing looked a strange one. The fact Man City would be entitled to a big chunk of any profit was an issue and they had a buyback clause, maybe Eddie Howe couldn’t guarantee Trafford he would be instant first choice as well?

Whilst when it came to Ekitike, Pedro and Sesko, they were all Newcastle United targets to fill the same position and they ended up going to clubs that were all desperate for a new first choice striker. All three of those clubs paying far higher wages than Newcastle United as well, due mainly to the PSR restraints NUFC have to work within.

Liam Delap

Long before last season ended, everybody knew that Ipswich were going down and that meant Liam Delap had a £30m contract release clause that could be triggered this summer.

After the end of the season, Liam Delap had talks with a lot of clubs as in today’s market, the £30m price tag was seen as a bargain. Amongst the clubs reported to have talked to the then Ipswich striker were Spurs, Man U, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Arsenal, amongst others.

It turned out Delap had always favoured Chelsea as he knew people already at Stamford Bridge and wanted to work with them again. Which is fair enough.

What isn’t fair enough is why then is it that only Newcastle United failed to sign Liam Delap, when he also spoke to Man U, Arsenal, Spurs etc etc?

The same with Bryan Mbeumo. After the then Brentford manager Thomas Frank admitted months before the end of last season that Mbeumo would be leaving in the summer, pretty much every top club was linked with him, certainly Arsenal, Spurs and Newcastle United were amongst those claimed to be interested.

When the season ended, it was immediately communicated through the media that Bryan Mbeumo was only interested in joining Man U. This turned out to be the case and whilst the transfer took forever to do, due to Man U trying to get him on the cheap due to Mbeumo desperate to join them (sounds familiar!), the deal was eventually done. Which was then Mbeumo admitted he was a Man U gloryhunter as a kid and that was why he’d only wanted to go to Old Trafford.

Yet when the media make their lists of clubs failing to sign players, Bryan Mbeumo always figures high on Newcastle’s list, yet not mentioned at all to do with Arsenal or Spurs. Funny that. Yet Newcastle didn’t even have talks with Mbeumo or his people as far as I know, never mind make an actual formal offer.

Even more bizarrely, Matheus Cunha is also claimed to be a Newcastle United failure, yet absolutely nothing happening from the NUFC end on him.

He was announced as a Man U player as soon as the transfer window opened in June and had clearly been agreed long before then. He was another where numerous clubs were claimed to have an interest due to the fact he had a release clause figure (just over £60m) that was seen as below his true market value.

Yet Newcastle United failed to sign him, nobody else.

Spurs had Morgan Gibbs-White all agreed, only for a last minute u-turn when Forest persuaded him not to take advantage of a release trigger in his contract. Yet nothing is said now about that having been a massive Tottenham transfer window failure. Especially with James Maddison set to now be out for the season.

Alexander Isak

We were told for some two years that Arsenal were going to be buying Alexander Isak, is that not a failure?

Is Liverpool failing to buy Alexander Isak not a…failure?

All clubs have any number of players they are interested in for all positions, a case of when you need somebody for that position, which one can you get?

Eddie Howe wanted James Trafford, who had a nightmare one season so far in the Premier League, totally unproven still. Eddie Howe ending up with Aaron Ramsdale who he bought when at Bournemouth and helped turn into an England international.

Anthony Elanga has been a long-time Howe target and he’d tried to buy the winger previously for the right wing and as a player who can play other positions. Maybe Mbeumo was also on Howe’s interest list BUT Elanga for sure was on it!

The same with Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey, two other players Eddie Howe had previously tried to sign. The idea that United and Howe are suddenly just signing anybody at random, is laughable.

Whilst anybody who thinks that Yoane Wissa isn’t a credible target to be second choice striker at St James’ Park, to replace Callum Wilson, I just don’t get it. He scored 19 Premier League goals last season for unfashionable Brentford and none of them were penalties.

Nobody would pretend that this summer has been without bumps into the road but to make out that it has been some complete disaster and everybody else only tasting success in the transfer market is disingenuous.

Looking at a very small pool of players who could potentially improve certain positions, Newcastle United finding it tough to sign the most difficult of signings, those who score goals. Although the reality is that with Sesko, Pedro and Ekitike, clubs have committed huge amounts of money on transfer fees and wages on strikers who have scored very few goals in top European league.

Newcastle United meanwhile move on with the players they have signed and the ones that will follow these next couple of weeks.