At long last, Newcastle United have confirmed the signing of Sandro Tonali.
The Italian international is now officially a Newcastle player after a slight delay as Eddie Howe lands his major midfield target.
While more incomings can surely be expected at St James’ Park given the club will be playing Champions League football next season, top brass are reportedly now more likely to reflect on where they are.
Last summer saw over a month pass before Sven Botman and Alexander Isak signed, so not moving particularly quickly is hardly anything new for Newcastle in the PIF era.
Indeed, they have not rushed recruitment at all since the takeover and, frankly, that has paid off so far.
Still, that doesn’t mean irons aren’t in the fire.
Lee Ryder says Newcastle could still spring a surprise in the transfer market
Though the Tonali delay meant pretty much everyone connected with the club knew it was likely to happen days before the official confirmation, the initial link came out of pretty much nowhere.
That could reportedly be the case again.
Writing in a column for The Chronicle, Lee Ryder has provided an update.
He claims that a “clutch” of departures from the club are “likely” and that could lead to the club springing something of a surprise towards the end of the window should the right player become available.
These are truly exciting times for Newcastle
With the likes of Karl Darlow and Javier Manquillo potentially departing, wages should start to be freed up soon.
While those players in particular might not be on huge pay packets and ready to demand massive transfer fees, every little helps when balancing FFP worries.
To have the money and the ambition to potentially spring a surprise late in the window, much like with the signing of Isak in late-August last year, is hugely exciting.
Given the success of Isak, there’s plenty of reason to hope a late boost in the transfer market is a realistic possibility.
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