The blunt Newcastle United transfer admission from Steve Bruce two years ago which is now unthinkable

Think back to the summer of 2021, Mike Ashley’s last as Newcastle United owner.

Steve Bruce wanted to strengthen his team following a 12th-placed finish, but, following the £25million acquisition of Joe Willock from Arsenal, there was a problem.

The club's finances had been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic – and loans were the only option, according to Bruce.

Speaking late in that summer's transfer window, then-head coach Bruce said: “We’re in this situation where, yes, we haven’t got a lot of money. There’s no money to be had.

“However, is there a loan deal like Joe Willock? Look how well he did for us. We’ve had one or two (loanees) who’ve done extremely well. That’s the market we’re looking at.”

Bruce wanted to sign another midfielder, Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury, on loan, but he was not confident of getting one when asked by the Gazette in a post-game Zoom call late in the window whether the club’s transfer business would go to the wire.

“No,” replied a glum Bruce, who then moved on to the next question.

The loan fee for Choudhury, surplus to requirements at Leicester, was an issue for the club’s hierarchy.

United’s transfer business, as predicted by Bruce, didn’t go to the wire, and the team struggled. By the time of the club’s takeover in October that year, Bruce’s side was winless and 19th in the Premier League.

A catastrophic relegation was only avoided by the appointment of Eddie Howe as head coach the following month – and a significant spend in the January transfer window.

Big deal

Fast forward to the present day, and a defensive midfielder is again a priority.

So much else, however, has changed. Newcastle are preparing for a Champions League campaign, not a relegation battle, and the club is recruiting from a very different market.

United are close to agreeing a £60million move for AC Milan’s Sandro Tonali, a 23-year-old senior Italy international who is leading his country in this summer's European Under-21 Championship.

In the space of less than two years the club, which has also signed 18-year-old forward Yankuba Minteh this summer, has gone from haggling over loan fees to signing Champions League semi-finalists.

The fact that a move to Newcastle now appeals to a player such as Tonali underlines the pace of change at the club since a consortium led by Amanda Staveley bought it for £305million.