Newcastle United transfer window deadline day – Massive sense of relief | OneFootball

As the Newcastle United transfer window draws to a close, I feel a sense of relief.

It means, at least for now, an end to the constant speculation, allowing us to focus on how we’ll perform this season.

Opinions on our transfer activity vary—some believe we’re adequately equipped to challenge for a top six finish, while others are frustrated, doubting our chances of even breaking into the top ten.

In my view, both perspectives have merit; it all depends on how you look at it.

On the positive side, we managed to keep our core players from last season, which is an achievement in itself.

However, we did lose two promising talents in Anderson and Minteh.

Eddie Howe made it clear that his priority was to retain key players, and he’s expressed satisfaction that none left during this window, but whether Eddie is genuinely content or simply adhering to directives from above, is something only he can answer.

In the past few transfer windows, Newcastle United made significant strides by signing players who have improved the team. However, this summer has been met with criticism for not bringing in a marquee player, so far…

Some argue that while a marquee signing wasn’t expected, we should have acquired someone capable of pushing us towards Champions League qualification—a high-profile player who could elevate the squad.

Ladies and gentleman, I present you Hall, Kelly, and Osula.

Hall as Burn’s upgrade, hopefully and Kelly as Dummett upgrade, with Osula as our third non-existent striker from last season. Hall though, was already part of the team last season, so some might say he doesn’t count as a new signing – but there’s a difference between renting and owning a house—you can’t claim ownership until you’ve signed the purchase agreement.

Many fans agree that our previous post-Ashley summer transfer windows have been successful, with spending consistently exceeding £100 million. This summer however, we’ve spent less than £50 million, leading some to label it a failure.

I, on the other hand, consider this Newcastle United transfer window a success if the aim is it helps to improve last season’s team. As we all know, last season’s high expenditure didn’t translate into value, as we couldn’t fully utilise Tonali, whilst Barnes only started a handful of games—resulting in £90 million effectively wasted purely in terms of the benefit for last season. So, £90 million or £50 million represent a satisfactory transfer window for us?

Personally, I’m not a fan of the “marquee player” concept, as discussed by Shearer. History has shown that marquee signings like Torres for Chelsea, Robinho and Grealish for Man City, don’t always guarantee success.

Marc Guehi might be a top player, potentially world-class, but what message does it send about our future transfer strategy if we refuse to pay the “Newcastle tax”… only to spend £70 million on him? There will always be exceptional talent available each season and we could likely secure someone just as good at a lower price next year.

From a broader perspective, our transfer windows under PIF have been far superior to the bleak years under Ashley. When we qualified for Europe under Pardew, the only addition was Vurnon Anita.

If we assess our transfers under PIF based on spending, this season has been the lowest. However, in terms of quality, with Tonali and Barnes now available, plus a maturing Hall and dependable Kelly, we’re in a much better position than last season. We’ve even secured a third striker, which we lacked last year. We should not try to keep up with the Joneses, or else next season, we might have to sell our prime assets to comply with FFP.

Lastly, if we were to sign Guehi, would this Newcastle United transfer window be considered a success?

What if he played just five games before getting injured for the rest of the season—would it still be a success?

New signings are always a gamble.

Chelsea spent more than a billion, yet their performance didn’t match their transfer expenditure, now including this window that spending has gone beyond one and a half billion.

This time, the Newcastle United owners have chosen not to roll the dice so far—not because they lacked funds, but because there were no suitable deals. We’ve kept our resources in reserve, ensuring we won’t need to sell young talents like Lewis Miley and Trevan Sanusi to comply with financial fair play rules. There will always be another rising star available next season and beyond.

We have many voices in our fanbase, some overly negative, others overly optimistic, most are moderate, but our shared love for NUFC unites us all.

You can always nitpick every sentence if you want, but it’s just my random thought, let’s enjoy the season ahead.