Ross Wilson delivers Newcastle United transfer truth after £130m Alexander Isak sale - January talks confirmed
Newcastle United sporting director Ross Wilson is looking ahead to the January transfer window now the dust has finally settled on a busy summer.
Newcastle United finally welcomed £55million deadline day signing Yoane Wissa to the side during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Burnley in the Premier League.
The forward came off the bench to make his debut after being ruled out for three months due to a knee injury. The Magpies also started Aaron Ramsdale, Malick Thiaw, Jacob Ramsey, Anthony Elanga and Nick Woltemade for the first time in the Premier League this season.
It’s the first time all six of Newcastle’s summer signings have featured in a match and the first time in the Premier League that five of them had started.
Eddie Howe is yet to see significant benefits from the near £250million summer transfer spend on his side so far. Malick Thiaw has impressed at centre-back while Nick Woltemade’s seven goals have softened the blow of being without Wissa for the opening months of the campaign.
But Newcastle have had a largely inconsistent start to the season despite picking up 10 points out of their last 12 available in the Premier League. They’ve progressed to the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup, put themselves in a good position in the Champions League but find themselves sitting 11th in the Premier League table after 15 games.
The table is incredibly tight with just three points separating Chelsea in fifth, which will likely be the final Champions League place, and Manchester United in 12th. In such a tight season, a couple of January additions could make all the difference as Newcastle look to put together a consistent run.
The first January transfer window following the PIF-led takeover in January 2022 proved to be transformative for Newcastle with the arrivals of Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn in particular, seeing the club’s fortunes turn for the better. The following January, Newcastle signed Anthony Gordon from Everton for £45million but have not made a major winter signing since.
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Newcastle United’s January transfer window
Newcastle discussions are now taking place behind the scenes in regard to the January transfer window and whether any moves will be made in or out of the club.
“We need to be across everything that's going to happen in January,” Howe said.
"We never quite know what the month will look like. You can have a vision of it being quiet or the opposite, and the reality can be very different. So we need to be across it. We need to be prepared for all eventualities."
It will be sporting director Ross Wilson’s first transfer window since being appointed to the role. And he is currently assessing where the squad is at as Newcastle hope to progress in the Champions League and mount another European push in the second half of the season.
“Basically, where we’re at right now is that Eddie and I haven’t spoken about what January looks like in terms of incomings,” Wilson said. “What we’ve talked about is what the thoughts are about the squad right now. Where’s his head at with the squad we’ve already got? How does that look? How does he feel about that, the shape, the size of it? Individuals? That’s what we’ve spoken about up to now.”
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Do NUFC have money to spend in January?
A big question in the PSR landscape of football is whether the club have the money available to spend without facing any repercussions from the Premier League or UEFA.
Wilson confirmed Newcastle have money to spend in January after the £130million Premier League record sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool. But after a significant investment into the squad in the summer, a quieter January is anticipated.
“The scouting work is always ongoing,” Wilson added. “So, the guys are doing loads of work with that all the time. Can we spend in January? Yes. If we want to, we can.
“I think it’s fairly obvious to everybody given the level of club spend in the summer that we’re not going to do that again in the winter window as well, for a variety of reasons. But if we want to spend, we can.
“Of course, we’ll be creative, of course we’ll be opportunistic as well. But probably the most important thing is that it would have to align with what the summer plan looks like, which is the bigger squad plan. All of those conversations are ongoing.
“We’ll have the ones about where Eddie sees the need in the squad, if at all. But for now, the conversations have been, ‘What have we got, what do we think about what we’ve got, where do we see this’, then let’s see how that fits into January and the next part of the conversation.”
Newcastle have been linked with a couple of potential signings in January with AZ Alkmaar’s Kees Smit attracting plenty of interest though will likely remain in the Netherlands until next summer. There are also some potential outgoings with William Osula heavily linked with an exit while Emil Krafth and Fabian Schar have attracted interest from the continent as their contracts are set to expire at the end of the season.
"Always would love to keep the squad fresh,” Howe admitted. “Whether that's bringing someone in, always keep the squad fresh. And that will be a feeling that you have from within. Every window our outlook is to be active.