Newcastle United spent a lot of money in January. Five new players arrived for a grand total of £93million.
The first to join was Kieran Trippier, who was eventually followed by Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett and Dan Burn.
For a January transfer window, it was a huge spend. That kind of money is rarely spent in the winter window, but it was the result of Newcastle’s change of ownership and their perilous position in the table.
New signings led to an upturn in fortunes, and now Newcastle are nowhere near relegation danger. They’re actually dreaming of a top half finish.
It’s simply astonishing, but a lot of outsiders believe it’s down to the money spent. ‘Newcastle have bought survival’ they’ll say.
Yes, the Magpies did spend a lot of money, but is it that much different to what other clubs have done?
Plenty of teams have spent big money – just like Newcastle
Newcastle United are the fifth biggest spenders in the Premier League this season, including the money Mike Ashley spent before his departure.
In total, the Toon have spent around £119million. Ahead of them is Manchester City at £120million, Aston Villa £122million, Man United £126million and Arsenal £149million.
The amount spent by Aston Villa is the most interesting. That’s an incredible amount for a team that is actually below Newcastle now.
They were also a team tipped to potentially go down, so have they bought survival too? Or does their expenditure not get mentioned because they aren’t doing as well as of late? Of course, the money they received for Jack Grealish is a factor.
Arsenal are gunning for fourth place. If they get there, will they have bought Champions League qualification? Are Manchester City on the brink of buying the Premier League title?
While some clubs haven’t spent as much as Newcastle, they’ve still spent a lot. Crystal Palace shelled out £76million. They needed to after releasing so many players, but everyone is talking about the brilliant business they’ve done rather than ‘buying survival’.
Everton have forked out £78million this season, and they could be relegated. And that only scratches the surface of what they’ve spent. Since the summer of 2016, the Toffees have spent £550million on players. And what have they got to show for it?
What about previous seasons?
In 2020, football clubs were feeling the financial impact of COVID. But that didn’t stop a lot of money being thrown around.
Newcastle spent around £35million on players. In contrast, Leeds forked out £95million after promotion, while Villa spent £81million after narrowly avoiding the drop. This came a year after they spent £90million on their return to the Premier League.
A Premier League club spending big money is not a new commodity. Newcastle United are not the first club to splash the cash, nor is it the sole reason for their success.
Plenty of teams have spent big and failed. Just look at Everton.
Newcastle’s success is down to good management, renewed belief and an improving squad. The new signings have helped massively, but they haven’t done anything their rivals haven’t been doing themselves.
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