Newcastle United are starting to have some joy in the transfer market, but it had been a frustrating summer up until this point.
There was the PSR debacle that nearly resulted in Newcastle United losing Anthony Gordon, as well as endless rumours regarding the futures of Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes.
The pursuit of new recruits was not going well either, with plenty of top targets going elsewhere. Eddie Howe wanted Michael Olise at Newcastle United, but the Frenchman decided to swap Crystal Palace for Bayern Munich instead.
But one of the Magpies’ transfer mishaps this summer could now be set to become a blessing in disguise.
Newcastle were snubbed by Tosin Adarabioyo in June
At the start of the summer, Newcastle had two top targets – Lloyd Kelly and Tosin Adarabioyo. Both were set to become free agents, and both would provide good Premier League experience without breaking the bank.
The former did arrive, with Kelly joining Newcastle. Eddie Howe is delighted to be reunited with Kelly, and the 25-year-old looked decent on his first Newcastle appearance out in Japan.
However, the Tosin Adarabioyo saga had a different ending two months ago at the beginning of June.
It looked for all the world that the centre-back was Toon bound, with Newcastle confident about signing Tosin on a free. However, the 26-year-old would go on to snub Newcastle’s offer and sign for Chelsea instead.
Tosin’s change of heart was infuriating, but it is now Newcastle who are having the last laugh.
Marc Guehi is a much better signing for Newcastle United
Once Newcastle missed out on Tosin, they restarted their search for a right-sided centre-back.
It could be about to come to an end, with Newcastle United trying to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace.
Guehi wants to sign for Newcastle, with the Magpies’ first offer being rejected. But a second offer is being prepared, with confidence growing that Guehi will join Eddie Howe’s side.
It could be a club record deal, with Palace looking for around £65million. Newcastle’s interest has continued despite that fee, with the owners set to make a major statement.
Guehi could be a game-changer for Newcastle. He can play as the right-sided or left-sided centre-back, is strong in possession and is a leader. He is the perfect replacement for Fabian Schar, and is riding a wave of momentum after his performances for England at Euro 2024.
Rivals will stand up and take notice of this deal, but that would not have been the case had Tosin signed for Newcastle.
While Tosin has been described as ‘special‘, he is not as good as Guehi, nor does he boast the same amount of potential. And he is also older than Guehi.
Of course, Newcastle are paying the price. They are using up a huge chunk of their budget to land Guehi. It is money they would have saved had they landed Tosin, but Toon officials will argue that the 24-year-old is worth the investment.
It was extremely frustrating to see Newcastle lose out to Chelsea in the race for Tosin, but it has ended up benefitting the Magpies. If that had not happened, Newcastle would not be on the brink of welcoming Guehi to St James’ Park, and he is a much better signing than Tosin.
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