Newcastle United’s £60m transfer ‘question mark’ as star open to leaving amid Premier League interest - Q&A

Newcastle have made five signings so far this summer with Yankuba Minteh, Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall joining the club for a combined total of around £130million plus the £28million the club are obligated to pay Chelsea once Hall’s loan deal becomes permanent next summer.

There have also been several players leave the club with Chris Wood’s loan to Nottingham Forest officially becoming permanent, Karl Darlow joining Leeds United and Allan Saint-Maximin leaving to join Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli. A number of players have also left on loan with summer signing Yankuba Minteh joining Feyenoord for the 2023-24 season and January addition Garang Kuol also making the switch to the Eredivisie with Volendam. Jamal Lewis, Harrison Ashby and Ryan Fraser have completed loan moves to Championship clubs Watford, Swansea City and Southampton respectively.

Here our Newcastle writer Dominic Scurr looks at how things are shaping up as the transfer window comes to an end.

When does the summer transfer window close for Premier League clubs?

The transfer window for Newcastle United and Premier League clubs closes at 11pm on Friday, September 1. Club will still be able to sign players unattached to a club after the deadline, much like Newcastle did with Loris Karius last September.

Europe’s five major leagues will also have their transfer window close on September 1. But with that comes a potential issue for clubs in Europe’s major leagues regarding the Saudi Pro League.

Saudi Pro League clubs have dominated this summer’s transfer window with their lavish spending and ability to attract some of world football’s most prominent names. And the Saudi Pro League transfer window is open for another week after the Premier League transfer deadline.

That means clubs could potentially have their players targeted by Saudi clubs and be unable to replace them.

Are Newcastle United still active in the transfer market?

In terms of incomings, Newcastle’s business looks to have concluded with the signing of Lewis Hall. Depending on any last minute outgoings, there is no room left in the transfer budget for The Magpies to make any further signings unless they were loan deals.

A centre-back addition has been discussed internally at Newcastle this summer but nothing has transpired with the signing of left-back Hall freeing up Dan Burn as centre-back cover.

An injury to Sven Botman against Liverpool over the weekend put the club on alert to potentially dip back into the transfer market. But with the Dutch defender’s ankle issue not thought to be too serious, the club are likely to keep quiet until January.

Who else could leave Newcastle United before deadline day?

Isaac Hayden and Jeff Hendrick will need to find new clubs before Friday’s deadline in order to secure any first-team football in the opening months of the season. Hayden looked set to join Premier League newcomers Luton Town only for a loan deal to fall through at the last minute.

Hendrick has been subject to interest from a number of Championship clubs including Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and West Bromwich Albion but there have been no formal approaches for the midfielder so far.

In terms of the first-team, Newcastle currently have a full 25-man Premier League squad. This includes the likes of Mark Gillespie, Paul Dummett, Matt Ritchie, Emil Krafth and Javier Manquillo - none of whom started a Premier League match for the club last season.

The additions of Hall and Tino Livramento do not impact Newcastle’s 25-man squad due to their age - neither do players such as Lewis Miley and Elliot Anderson as they are below 21-years-old.

Barring any late spectacular offers, there shouldn’t be too many surprises in the final days of the transfer window at Newcastle. With Krafth close to a return to fitness and Livramento arriving from Southampton, the club would allow Manquillo to leave this window should a club come in for him - but interest in the Spaniard has only been tentative so far.

On the opposite side, Matt Targett has been subject to interest from Nottingham Forest and Fulham. While the left-back is understood to be looking for more game-time and would be open to leaving this summer, the club have so far blocked any potential transfer.

What are your thoughts on Newcastle United’s transfer window so far?

If Newcastle didn’t bring in any more players before Friday’s deadline, as is expected, it has been a reasonably successful summer transfer window on the whole.

The signing of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan looks to be a smart piece of business as Newcastle have strengthened in a key area with a player who has quickly taken to Premier League football. Harvey Barnes is a proven Premier League winger with an eye for goal and represents an upgrade on the outgoing Allan Saint-Maximin but aside from those two, The Magpies first-team hasn’t been as significantly strengthened as the near £160million transfer spend would suggest.

Hall and Livramento are very much signings for the future but aren’t currently first-choice options despite the club spending the best part of £60million on the young duo. Planning for the medium to long-term is obviously important, but until they make a first-team impact there will be a question mark over the £60million spend.

You just feel that such a significant part of the transfer budget could have been better spent on a top quality first-team ready left-back or right-wing upgrade.

Only time will tell if that decision was a sensible one or not.