Newcastle United’s owners deserve a lot of credit for how they have operated in the transfer market.
When they bought the club, we were a shambles – particularly in defence. Steve Bruce’s side couldn’t keep a clean sheet for love nor money.
A change of manager didn’t bring an immediate upturn in results, but Eddie Howe was laying the foundations for a successful 2022. However, he needed a boost at the back.
The hierarchy delivered, bringing in three defenders in January. Kieran Trippier was first to join, then Dan Burn and Matt Targett followed on deadline day.
The improvements didn’t end there though, with Howe still keen on boosting his backline this summer. Targett joined permanently, and he was followed by a new goalkeeper in Nick Pope.
Now it looks like Sven Botman is going to be the next new arrival, and suddenly Newcastle have built a completely new back five in the space of six months.
And the cost of it all is even more impressive.
Newcastle’s new backline costing only a little bit more than Harry Maguire
For all their riches, the Newcastle owners haven’t been cavalier in their approach. In fact, they have managed to pick up a few bargains since buying the club.
When you look at the price of the Magpies’ new backline, it’s quite impressive:
That’s five new defensive players for a grand total of £85million. Obviously that’s a huge amount of money in relative terms, but it’s quite modest in the football world when you consider what we have been able to get.
In contrast, Manchester United paid £80million for Harry Maguire in 2019. For just £5million more, we have bought a completely new backline. And a strong one too.
We’ve got two England internationals, a star of the future, a returning local hero and a wonderfully sold left-back.
It’s astute business from the Newcastle owners. The only player on the list above that is costing a huge amount is Botman, but he’s only 22. He could be a Toon player for a long, long time and prove to be worth every penny.
Burn, Trippier and Targett have all delivered already in a black and white shirt, while Pope feels nailed on to be a success at St James’ Park.
It speaks volumes about the Newcastle owners’ recruitment, while it also shines a light on how not to run a club. Manchester United wasted a huge sum of money on just one player and have failed to reap the rewards.
The Magpies will be looking to avoid mistakes like that, but at the moment they’re getting everything right.
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