Newcastle United have had their fair share of disastrous transfers in the past, some of which have gone on to amazing things after leaving.
It feels like a different story at Newcastle United in 2025, with most of Eddie Howe’s signings hitting the ground running, recently helping them win a first major trophy since 1969.
The likes of Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes are prime examples of fantastic recruitment by Newcastle, but it was not always like this.
During Mike Ashley’s reign as owner, Newcastle barely splashed the cash. When they did, those signings struggled under managers like Alan Pardew and Steve McClaren.
Florian Thauvin flopped at Newcastle but ended up winning the World Cup with France after a sensational season at Marseille, after leaving the Magpies. Elsewhere, Georgino Wijnaldum was fantastic at Liverpool, having suffered relegation with Newcastle in 2016.
While those players showed signs of what they were capable of at Newcastle, no fan could have predicted the sensational rise of Joselu.
Newcastle flop Joselu defied the odds by winning the Champions League
Joselu, now 35, signed for Newcastle in 2017 from Stoke City, having been persuaded by fellow Spaniard Rafa Benitez after the Magpies were promoted back to the Premier League.
Most Newcastle fans will agree that his time on Tyneside was lacklustre, and he failed to set the world alight under Benitez.
Joselu was brought to Newcastle for £5m when Benitez was forced to move away from signing Tammy Abraham on loan after Ashley rebuffed the approach.
In an interview with the Athletic, Benitez was asked about exactly why he signed Joselu.
“He was £4million plus one,” Benitez responded.
“He had experience in England (after two seasons with Stoke, though his second was mostly spent on loan in Spain), he was good in the air, he could hold the ball up and he could finish, so I think it was a good option. Obviously, the pace and movement, they were different.”
Joselu completed a permanent move away from Newcastle in 2019 after Benitez left and Steve Bruce was appointed head coach. The writing was on the wall for him either way, having been dropped from Newcastle’s squad before the end of the season.
His poor performances had even been noted by a club legend who is known to openly criticise players. Alan Shearer admitted Joselu was bad at Newcastle but understood the pressures of playing for the Magpies at that time.
Things got a lot better for Joselu after leaving Newcastle for Alaves; however, the striker was picked up by Spanish giants Real Madrid on loan for the 2023/24 season. Joselu would end up becoming a hero for Real, scoring an important brace against Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the Champions League to help them reach the final they would win against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium.
His career high point came at the end of the campaign when he was included in Spain’s squad for the 2024 European Championships. He may have only played two games for his country in that tournament, but it was still enough for him to take a medal home alongside Mikel Merino and Ayoze Perez, two other former Newcastle stars.
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Why Joselu decided to leave Newcastle in 2019
Bruce’s appointment in 2019 could have been a fresh start for Joselu, who had only scored seven goals in 52 games in all competitions. Instead, he decided it was best to go, believing that he had done all he could on Tyneside and did not believe he would have been able to fight his way back into the starting XI.
In an interview with the Guardian in 2024, Joselu opened up on his move away from Newcastle, saying: “When I left Newcastle, I signed for Alavés – an important club but not Newcastle’s level. I had four years [on his contract at Newcastle]. It would have been easy to say I’m not dropping down. I could have stayed, picked up my money, not played. But I wanted to compete, feel important, I had no problem going. That experience in England and three good seasons at Alavés, then Espanyol, helped me reach where I am now.”
While he has proven to be successful, Joselu admits that his time at Newcastle was filled with bad memories, mainly stemming from his final season at the club.
“I wasn’t playing(in his last season at Newcastle),” he added. You get a chance and if you miss, maybe it’s three or four games before you play again. I don’t think I ever reached that point [of it sinking me] but there were bad moments. It’s inevitable.”
The Spaniard is now in the twilight of his career, playing for Qatar Stars League side Al-Gharafa where he is still finding the back of the net on a consistent basis.
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