Alexander Isak record-breaking deal after Liverpool tease as Newcastle United eye four signings
Newcastle United are less than a month away from the start of the new season and are still striving to make an impact in the transfer market.
One major signing, two departures and the abrupt exit of the club’s sporting director suggest it has hardly been a straightforward summer for Newcastle United and Eddie Howe.
A summer that promised to be ‘big’ with PSR issues alleviated and Champions League qualification secured has transpired into one of failed pursuits, uncertainty and frustration for those on Tyneside.
So what is the current state of play? What is next for Newcastle United? And what players could be heading in and out at St James’ Park?
Our Shields Gazette Newcastle United writer Dominic Scurr has answered some key questions surrounding the summer transfer window so far and what to expect in the coming weeks...
How concerned should NUFC supporters be after Eddie Howe's comments post-Celtic around transfer business?
Howe’s comments around transfer frustration, failed pursuits and having to take on roles he wouldn’t usually in the recruitment process just confirm what we’ve been hearing and what he has been reported in the weeks leading up to Newcastle’s match at Celtic.
To hear it from the horse’s mouth gives credence to those claims. Ultimately, a transfer window that promised so much has so far delivered the bare minimum. Newcastle’s squad is weaker than when it started, with only one incoming in Anthony Elanga, and several missed targets.
Fans can rightly feel concerned as those concerns are shared by those at Newcastle. But there are still over five weeks left of the transfer window, so time, for now, is on Newcastle’s side and targets are still being pursued.
What is a realistic scenario for NUFC this summer transfer window - the squad currently looks weaker than the end of the season?
The minimum target for an ambitious club like Newcastle, PSR limitations or not, should be to end the transfer window in a stronger position than it started. That wasn’t the case last summer with the departures of Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson, and free transfer Lloyd Kelly the only incoming to threaten the starting line-up.
It also wasn’t the case in January with Kelly and Miguel Almiron departing, and no new signings through the door.
Newcastle will be looking to avoid a third successive transfer window weakening the squad after losing Callum Wilson and Sean Longstaff, who are yet to be replaced. The club are active in their pursuit of a striker and a midfielder, while a centre-back and a goalkeeper have also been targeted.
Secure players in those four positions, and it will be viewed as a successful transfer window that has strengthened the squad. But that’s easier said than done, and progress has been slow.
At the moment, Brentford’s Wissa is Newcastle’s most public attacking target. While the striker is keen on a move, there is still a lot of work to do regarding that deal when it comes to reaching an agreement with Brentford.
Has the James Trafford ship sailed with Manchester City now looking to strike a deal?
The ship hasn’t sailed just yet, but it’s certainly getting ready to. A month ago, Trafford to Newcastle looked like a tap-in signing. Personal terms were agreed, it was just a case of agreeing a fee with Burnley for the goalkeeper without any real competition.
A month on, Trafford is still at Burnley, and Man City have entered the race for his signature. While City are seriously interested in the 22-year-old, Newcastle’s chances of signing him are slim.
City have 20% sell-on, £40million buy-back and price-match clauses in the Trafford deal, having sold the goalkeeper to Burnley back in 2023. It means even if Newcastle were to agree a deal with Burnley, City could match their offer at a discounted rate and hijack the signing.
The Magpies’ only hope, if they are to persist with their pursuit of Trafford, would be that Man City cool their interest, which is a possibility.
Should NUFC consider inserting similar clauses in any deals of young players they sell, like Man City did?
Yes, selling players with various clauses can be enormously useful, particularly when it comes to PSR. Chelsea have benefited significantly from it, with Newcastle’s move for Tino Livramento from Southampton earning The Blues a significant sell-on fee. Chelsea would also benefit if Crystal Palace sell former Newcastle target Marc Guehi this summer and have various clauses for many players no longer at the club that could earn them significant fees.
It’s also worth noting that Newcastle’s purchase of Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest banked Manchester United around £6million in a sell-on fee.
Meanwhile, it’s understood Newcastle have not agreed such deals with the likes of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh sold for as high an upfront fee as possible out of PSR desperation - no buy-back, no sell-on.
Normally, Newcastle would have such clauses in deals for young players. Their biggest success story in that regard was the sale of Ivan Toney to Peterborough United, which earned them a seven-figure sum after the striker was sold to Brentford in 2020 and then again to Al-Ahli last summer.
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Are Newcastle United shopping in the wrong market?
It’s a matter of opinion, but the results so far this summer would suggest they are. They’ve lost out on Joao Pedro and Liam Delap to Chelsea, Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United, Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool and are now facing stiff competition from Manchester City for top goalkeeping target James Trafford.
The Magpies are competing with teams that have more pull when it comes to prestige and finances; it was always going to be very difficult. You can’t fault the ambition but it has resulted in a lot of wasted effort.
Newcastle’s transfer targets, at least the ones that have reached the public domain, have been obvious and shown little in the way of creativity. Joao Pedro, Ekitike, Trafford and Elanga have all been targeted in previous windows, some several times over.
Wissa is slightly different to what Newcastle would usually go for, but again, they face competition from Tottenham Hotspur for a proven Premier League player.
So in many ways, the outside view is that Newcastle are being predictable and perhaps a bit naive in the transfer market. They need to be shrewd, think outside of the box and look at players further afield who offer greater value for money and less top-level competition.
While he wasn’t the most popular figure at Newcastle, Paul Mitchell had a point when he said the club needed to cast its net further and make its recruitment strategy more effective.
Centre-back targets Giorgio Scalvini, Leonardo Balerdi, Nicolo Savona and Cesar Tarrega signify some intent from the club to look at the European market, but no progress has been made in that regard.
What is happening with Alexander Isak? Liverpool interest? New contract?
All signs point to Alexander Isak staying at Newcastle United this summer. There is a lot of noise surrounding the striker and his absence at Celtic on Saturday wasn’t exactly ideal, but he is set to join up with the squad for the Asia tour this month.
Liverpool went public with their interest in the striker earlier this month yet didn’t make a formal approach to Newcastle, only serving the purpose of teasing and potentially unsettling the player. Howe admitted that was part of the reason why the Swede was sent home from Glasgow over the weekend but insisted Isak was happy at the club.
Newcastle have no intention to sell Isak this summer and the message from the very top of the club is that no offers for the player will be entertained, but the player’s desires must be taken into consideration.
Isak turns 26 in September and still has three years left on his contract at Newcastle. While he’s a high earner at Newcastle, he is on a modest salary for a player considered one of the best strikers in world football.
In order to get Isak to commit his long-term future to the club, The Magpies will have to offer him a new deal that reflects his ability and status on the global stage or else they risk losing him.
But a new deal for Isak would require Newcastle to break its current wage structure, which could lead to further problems down the line when it comes to new signings and players already at the club.
The expectation is that Isak will still be a Newcastle player come September, but things are still up in the air when it comes to a new contract.