What’s happened to Newcastle United’s reported £50million transfer budget?

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On the 13th June 2021, The Sun reported that Newcastle United would have a transfer budget of £50million this summer.

The alleged ‘warchest’ was a reward from Mike Ashley to Steve Bruce for keeping the Magpies in the Premier League.

More than a month on, 43 days to be precise, and not a single penny has been spent.

We are less than three weeks away from the start of the season, yet we haven’t signed any first-team players.

To make matters worse, the squad is weaker right now than it was last season. There’s no Joe Willock as of yet, while Andy Carroll has left the club.

In the weeks after our ‘warchest’ was reported, conflicting stories have emerged.

Some have claimed that we barely have a penny to spend. A transfer budget of around £10million has been reported.

For reference, that’s less than Championship clubs. Fulham recently signed Harry Wilson from Liverpool for £12million.

Meanwhile, the proposed Saudi takeover appears to be off for the foreseeable future. A conclusion this summer feels impossible.

Newcastle United’s £50million transfer budget claim made no sense back in June

At the time, the Sun’s report begged more questions than answers.

Back in June, Newcastle’s arbitration hearing was on the horizon. It could have been the key to unlocking the PCP Capital Partners takeover.

So why would Ashley offer up £50million to improve a squad that he intended to have nothing to do with in a month’s time?

Or perhaps the transfer kitty was offered because Ashley no longer had confidence that a takeover would be completed.

Fast forward a month, and the takeover won’t be completed. Arbitration has now been delayed until the start of 2022.

Yet Newcastle are yet to spring into life in the transfer market.

Yes, clubs have been hit hard financially by COVID. However, other Premier League sides are making signings and investing in their squad.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are standing still. If anything, they’ve gone backwards from last season. And considering relegation was a very real threat last time out, that is a major problem.

So what has happened to Bruce’s £50million ‘warchest’? Where has the alleged budget gone?

Perhaps it was b******t after all…