Amanda Staveley reacts to £120m Newcastle United transfer decision

Amanda Staveley expressed her delight at Newcastle United’s summer transfer business after adding three new players to strengthen the squad depth.

The Magpies have spent around £120million on Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento — and two of those players made an instant impact in the 5-1 opening day Premier League win against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Tonali, a £52m arrival from AC Milan, scored the opener after six minutes and had a hand in two further goals. Barnes, who joined from Leicester City for £38m, was introduced from the bench in the 68th minute and in that time claimed a goal and assist.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the game, Staveley assessed Newcastle’s transfer window so far. Newcastle’s co-owner said: “Delighted. We’ve had a busy transfer window. We do have Financial Fair Play constraints that we have to be very, very savvy on bringing the right players in.

“We’ve welcomed three fantastic new players. We’re really excited to give them a proper St James’ Park welcome. Welcoming new players is a key part of our business plan but we’re looking forward to having a slightly deeper squad ahead of us in the next few months.”

Meanwhile, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben spoke about the season ahead, which includes the return of Champions League football to St James’ Park for the first time in 20 years.

“All of us are super delighted,” Ghodoussi said. “Obviously, it was a tremendous season last season. We’re excited but also very conscious of the difficulty of the new season. “We’re not going to be complacent. We’ll continue to work hard and try to continue our success.”

Reuben added: “What a season ahead. These players deserve it, these fans deserve and this city deserves it. First time back in the Champions League for around 20 years so we’re right up for it.

“Obviously it brings a lot of high-quality additional games so we’ve got to give a good account of ourselves, see where we get to and enjoy the ride,”

Newcastle’s season continues with a trip to Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday (kick-off 8pm).