Newcastle terminated £9.5m player’s contract in 2021, now he can’t stop scoring goals and winning trophies

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Newcastle United need to become better sellers.

In the age of PSR, Newcastle United need to bring more money into the club through player sales.

Since PIF arrived to become Newcastle United owners, the Magpies have struggled when it comes to player trading. They have not thrived when it comes to moving on fringe players, which is a concern as Newcastle need to sell to buy ahead of January.

However, Newcastle’s poor record of selling players is not a new phenomenon. It also happened during the Mike Ashley era, particularly during the latter years.

Newcastle United wasted big money on Yoshinori Muto

One example of that is Yoshinori Muto.

Newcastle United signed the Japanese forward in the summer of 2018, with Muto arriving from Mainz for £9.5million and signing a four-year deal.

Considering Ashley’s reluctance to splash the cash at St James’ Park, that was a significant amount of money to spend on a player who had scored 20 Bundesliga goals across 66 appearances for Mainz.

The hope was that Benitez had identified another gem, but that is not how it panned out.

Muto spent two seasons on Tyneside, making just 28 appearances in all competitions in total. He was not a regular under Rafa Benitez, while he was used even more sparingly when Steve Bruce arrived.

The Japanese forward scored one goal for each, with his first Toon strike coming away to Manchester United. He almost contributed to a famous win at Old Trafford, only for the Magpies to lose 3-2 after taking a 2-0 lead against Jose Mourinho’s side.

After just four starts under Bruce, Muto left Newcastle in September 2020. He joined Eibar on loan, where he scored just one La Liga goal.

The forward was back on Tyneside 12 months later, as he entered the final 12 months of his Toon contract.

However, Newcastle decided to cut their losses and agreed to terminate Muto’s contract early. He left Newcastle United by mutual consent in the summer of 2021, as he returned to Japan to play for Vissel Kobe in the J1 League.

Muto has excelled since Newcastle United terminated his contract

Initially, Muto’s return to Japan was nothing to shout about. His side finished third in the J1 League in 2021, followed by a disappointing 2022 campaign that saw them end the year in 13th.

But now Vissel Kobe’s fortunes have changed, and the same goes for Muto.

They have won back-to-back J1 League titles, as well as the Emperor’s Cup in 2024.

During what has been a couple of trophy-laden years for Vissel Kobe, Muto has been on fire.

In 2023, he scored 11 goals and got 12 assists in 39 appearances in all competitions. He primarily played on the right of attack, as well as the odd appearance on the left and as a central striker.

Muto continued his good form in 2024, as Vissel Kobe did the double. He made 40 appearances in total, bagging 13 goals and seven assists. All of his goals came in the league, with Muto proving to be Vissel Kobe’s top scorer as they lifted the title for a second consecutive year.

At 32-years-old, Muto is playing the best football of his career, six-and-a-half years after Newcastle United decided to cut their losses and release him.