Newcastle United make bold Alexander Isak move after £68m deals devastate Eddie Howe

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Becoming the transfer hunter, not hunted: Why Newcastle United did 'nothing' in January. This was far from a transformative transfer window for the Magpies - but it will enable medium-term progress in the market.

June 30, 2024.

A date etched in the memory of all who had to endure it. A day never to be forgotten in the halls of power at St James’ Park - and one they hope to never repeat.

This was the day that the aggressive, bullish Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, who bow to no one, through Newcastle United and courtesy of the Premier League, became the hunted, not the hunter.

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The vultures circled as a PSR hole burned live and large in the Magpies’ accounts, and Elliot Anderson proved ample prey. It was nearly crown jewel Anthony Gordon, had Liverpool pushed the matter.

Elliot Anderson, Eddie Howe and Alexander Isak. The first a former Newcastle United player, the latter their current gem.Elliot Anderson, Eddie Howe and Alexander Isak. The first a former Newcastle United player, the latter their current gem.
Elliot Anderson, Eddie Howe and Alexander Isak. The first a former Newcastle United player, the latter their current gem. | Canva (via Getty).

Newcastle held none of the cards in transfer dealings, with clubs across the land knowing they were facing a hefty points deduction if they didn’t manage to raise significant funds before the Premier League’s accounting deadline. They had a metaphorical gun to their head.

They did satisfy the bean counters at PL HQ, but it came at a huge personal and collective cost. They avoided a points sanction, but lost probably the brightest, most naturally gifted talent the football club had produced in years. And done so for a measly £15millon in real world money, when the Odysseas Vlachodimos swap shop is factored in. That translated to £35million on the PSR balance books.

Losing Anderson was much more than a transfer. Yankuba Miteh stung, but Anderson really hurt. From the coaches who gave blood, sweat and tears from childhood to craft and hone his talents, to the anxiety and stress of those who had to ‘make things happen’ in those fraught, frantic final weeks, as well as the red faces of some in Riyadh. The pain of fans losing ‘one of their own’, the disappointment of a lifelong NUFC fan, who had to walk away from the club he loved to ‘save it’ and Eddie Howe, who was devastated to see a player he had earmarked as a future leader in his team depart.

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Anderson ‘summer’ changed NUFC mindset

But even that doesn’t really sum up the true impact of that date and the deal on Newcastle United. What happened that day, that week, has altered thinking and attitudes forever. No longer will Newcastle be subject to the Premier League vultures, no longer will they be prey to be feasted on by rivals. And that approach, as frustrating as it may have seemed to many, is exactly what we’ve seen play out in January, as Newcastle choose to stick, not twist, while many around them do anything but.

Short term pain for long term gain. It’s a cliché, I know, but one that rings so true when looking at Newcastle United’s transfer business.

It’s risk averse, financially. It’s safe, financially. Football, I know, isn’t just finance, and I’ll come on to that later. It doesn’t have any pomp and ceremony, none of the usual deadline day razzmatazz.

But, as mentioned, Newcastle were never going to risk leaving a PSR hole with winter spending. They were never really ever in the land of senior first-team recruits, even if Howe admitted Paul Mitchell and the transfer team had laid a lot of groundwork, just in case the Magpies could act. They would have done something, in reality, only if someone on their summer hitlist became available - like Gordon did in 2023 - and significant funds could be raised by sales. Neither materialised.

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Instead, it was a window where outward deals were given priority and prominence. And, despite not being good sellers in the past, Newcastle did just that - sell, really well.

Getting around £10million for Miguel Almiron was outstanding work, especially as he’s near 31 and offering little to no value to the first-team. The deal for Lloyd Kelly, which will see them pocket £20million eventually, after his initial loan, is up there with one of the best deals ever struck by the football club. And some still opt for the superficial ‘WhAt DoEs MiTcHeLl EvEn Do?’ argument, just because they haven’t got a washed up reject in a late bargain bin dash akin to Aston ‘at least they’re doing something’ Villa.

Business v football decision argument

Those deals future proof the Magpies, at relatively low risk to the here and now, particularly Kelly. This is where the business v football argument comes in.

While you could make a case to say the ‘option’ of Almiron off the bench, or as an injury replacement for either Gordon or Jacob Murphy, is a risky one to let go, he was falling further and further down the pecking order, and I do even wonder if Howe would have opted for other, yet untried options ahead of the Paraguayan should he have stayed and injury then wiped bodies out.

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With Kelly, put simply, he was second choice left-back, in a world of, albeit not perfect, left-back options. Kieran Trippier played there for England. Tino Livramento did it last season. Matt Targett is still around, and Dan Burn could work there in an emergency. At centre-half, he was behind Sven Botman and Burn in his preferred position, and then with Fabian Schar, Emil Krafth and soon-to-return Jamaal Lascelles on the other side, he was viewed as a expendable option, one who was on significant wages, too. Juventus, in many ways, handed Newcastle the golden ticket - and good on them for snapping their hands off.

Those deals, which will show as close to pure profit on the balance sheets heading into the summer, give the club room to play with. Those deals will further boost the Magpies’ spending power, in what will surely have to be one where they club improve the first team.

It sounds like that will be the case. It sounds like the summer will be the window where the shackles are finally let off. And there’s no need for scepticism, this isn’t Mike Ashley. This football club HAD to put the brakes on. It HAD to ensure sustainability. It HAD to stop the risks.

If it hadn’t, and pushed spending this window, which would have happened in the same circumstances 12-18 months ago, then a hole may well have emerged. And then it’s rinse and repeat. But believe me, if you thought Anderson or the Gordon Anfield dalliance was hard to palate, just wait for the vultures to see weakness this summer, when the Magpies have arguably the most valuable forward asset on the planet on their books. Never mind £150million price tags, how does Arsenal for £80million, sound? They’d definitely try their hand. And Newcastle might just, in said circumstances, be forced to accept.

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Reality bites - and it might just save Isak ‘panic’

It’s not nice, but sometimes reality bites. Sometimes cloth must be cut to suit, even for those with the deepest of deep pockets. Sometimes short term goals - a Champions League return and a Carabao Cup final - are superseded by the medium and long term health of the club. And you know what, I’m all for it.

I want to win a cup as much as the next man or woman, and I also want my Euro nights back. But I don’t think either of those goals should be put ahead of proper strategy. The alternative - ‘yes, we made it back to the Champions League, but now have a £50million hole in our accounts as a result - who can we sell? Gordon, Isak, Bruno Guimaraes? Dare I say it, Sandro Tonali?’.

Newcastle don’t need to go for bust. They don’t need to invite a PSR hole-induced gun to their head on June 30. PIF see this football club-owing lark as a marathon not a sprint - and as fans, maybe we should try look through that lens once in a while. And when you do, it makes understanding the second ‘zero spend’ January a whole lot easier. A balance sheet won’t score Newcastle United or Eddie Howe goals this season, but a positive one gives them the best possible chance of ensuring Alexander Isak does for windows to come.

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