Newcastle United supporters will never enjoy watching their best players leave. Nor should they – but it does not always have to be a bad thing.
This is a fanbase who have seen an awful lot of quality walk out of the door over the years. Chris Waddle, Peter Beardsley, Paul Gascoigne, Andy Carroll and Alexander Isak are prime examples.
If you had to choose – who would you rather STAYS at Newcastle United next season?
Both have been tipped to leave…
Being a selling club does not have to be deemed as an insult, as annoying as it was to hear supporters online talk about the ‘food chain’ in football during the Isak saga. It does not always mean a lack of ambition, either.
Newcastle cannot keep pretending they are not a selling club
It is just the reality of where Newcastle have been and, unfortunately, still are to an extent. The club have huge potential, vast support and wealthy owners, but they are still operating inside financial rules that limit rapid-fire progression.
This summer could prove that again. Indeed, several key players could leave Newcastle this summer, with a painful transfer window predicted.
Clearly, that hurts, particularly after a largely miserable season.
Hard choice – but who are you selling if you were in charge? 🤔
Feel free to include anyone not pictured!
Yet the bigger problem has never simply been selling. Newcastle’s real failure has been selling badly, reacting slowly and often spending the money without a clear enough plan.
The anger should be about the replacement plan. Or lack thereof.
Supporters will surely accept a painful sale if it clearly moves the team forward.
What they cannot accept is losing a star and watching the squad get weaker. That has happened too often, with no better example than the summer of 2025.
The club should sell a player at peak value, reinvest early and improve several positions. The conversation would then change. Should they sell late and panic, then the club deserve every bit of criticism that follows.
That is why this summer matters so much.
Newcastle United should embrace being a selling club
The best selling clubs are not small clubs. They are simply – generally at least – much smarter than those who can splash money around with no real consequence.
Brighton, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund and others have built their reputations by accepting the market, not always trying to fight against it and being beholden to one specific group of players. Newcastle may have huge ambitions beyond those clubs, but they can learn from their discipline.
In a world dominated by financial rules, this is how Newcastle protect themselves.
The plan to get to the top is not weakened by selling one player. It is weakened by pretending one player is bigger than the plan.
Newcastle fans no longer need lectures from PIF about ambition. What they do need is proof that the club can lose a big name and come back stronger. That did not happen with Isak, and it must not happen again.
That is the challenge now. Not to stop selling forever, because that is not realistic.
The challenge is to finally become good at it.
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