Newcastle United sporting director Paul Mitchell needs the January transfer window to go well.
The summer transfer window was largely disastrous for Newcastle United, with the Magpies failing to make any major signings. A centre-back and a winger were the two top targets at the start of the summer, yet neither arrived at St James’ Park.
It was not a good start to Paul Mitchell‘s Toon tenure, and he was quick to deflect the blame away from himself. That created an uncomfortable situation on Tyneside, with tension behind the scenes between Mitchell and Eddie Howe.
However, Howe and Mitchell have since held fresh talks, and their relationship will hopefully improve. January could be the big test, as Mitchell gets another chance to enhance Howe’s first-team squad.
What Paul Mitchell intends to do at Newcastle United in January
And that is exactly what Mitchell plans to do when 2025 arrives.
According to the Telegraph, Mitchell is intending to make a big signing in the January transfer window, but only if the right player is available.
The Telegraph suggest that Newcastle could possibly sign a player in the region of £50million, which would be one of the most expensive deals in the club’s history. Only Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak have cost the Magpies more, with the latter still Newcastle’s most expensive signing ever at £63million.
It remains to be seen who Mitchell will target. It has been reported that Newcastle’s priority will be a right winger, while it has also been suggested that Mitchell will try to sign Guehi again after failing to land him in the summer.
While one might arrive, there is surely no way that both positions will be addressed.
How Paul Mitchell’s Newcastle plan could impact the summer of 2025
That is because PSR continues to be a concern for Newcastle United.
The Telegraph add that Newcastle will have to sell someone in the summer of 2025 to comply with PSR if they sign a player for around £50million in January.
It is a vicious circle, and one that continues to hold Newcastle United back.
During the summer, Newcastle had to sell Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson to comply with PSR. In a perfect world, they would both still be at St James’ Park and preparing to play a big part in the club’s future.
In fact, Newcastle would not need to sign a winger if Minteh was still on Tyneside. Yet he was forced to leave due to PSR, and Newcastle will have to sell again if they sign an alternative right winger in January.
Newcastle’s new recruitment plan
It is an extremely frustrating situation, and one that Mitchell is trying to rectify.
Rather than sell first-team stars, Mitchell wants to go down another path. He is trying to change the Magpies’ recruitment model, with Mitchell keen to emulate what Liverpool are doing.
The Toon sporting director wants to sign young players with potential from untapped markets and then loan them out. They will then either develop into first-team players on Tyneside or improve so much that their value increases and they can be sold off for a big profit.
It is essential that Newcastle start to do this, otherwise they could be forced to sell a player that they do not want to sell yet again.
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