There’s no getting away from the fact it was a disappointing transfer window for Newcastle.
The fans are used to it by now but we’re having a look back at the summer as a whole and have picked out four – some fans may think there are far, far more – pieces of unfinished business for Steve Bruce:
Central defence
The Athletic report that Bruce went into the window wanting a new central defender.
As soon as Kristoffer Ajer went to Brentford, the tone was set.
Now, Bruce has the same options, who are not quick enough or good enough on the ball.
He insists on playing three of them every week, which might be in part because he hasn’t settled on a duo he can trust.
The former central defender needs to bolster his backline.
Holding midfield
Bruce apparently remains convinced Hamza Choudhury could transform Newcastle’s midfield, but the club once again failed to loan him in from Leicester.
Newcastle don’t have an anchorman capable of really breaking play up or setting the tempo of a match.
Boubacar Kamara and Harry Winks were both linked, and they have such different profiles that it shows the lack of direction in terms of what Newcastle want in there.
Whatever they wanted, they still haven’t got it.
Goalkeeping situation
Newcastle did have bad luck with Martin Dubravka and Karl Darlow’s situations during the summer.
But it means four of their registered Premier League squad – when you throw in Freddie Woodman and Mark Gillespie – are goalkeepers.
That’s not sustainable beyond January and needs sorting during the winter.
Perhaps Woodman will go on loan, but then if he is the most impressive of the options to that point, a permanent exit for one of the more experienced stoppers might be on the cards.
Shifting unwanted players
Sean Longstaff, Emil Krafth, Matt Ritchie and Jeff Hendrick could reportedly all have left in the summer for the right offer.
Ciaran Clark, Dwight Gayle and Federico Fernandez are there because replacing them would have been costlier.
It will be even harder to move players on in January, and Newcastle are not the only club in the league to have had difficulty getting people through the exit door of late.
That’s still ongoing business which needs sorting when the window next opens.
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