Newcastle United officially lose out on £14.5m ace Paul Mitchell loved as he joins Premier League rivals

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Newcastle United have officially missed out on yet another signing in January.

The Magpies are at risk of being left behind by their rivals in the latter stages of the season if they don’t start making moves in the transfer market.

Sporting director Paul Mitchell needed to use this transfer window as proof that he could use his experience to attract big players to Newcastle. So far, it has failed to play out like that.

Failings from the summer look to have spilt into January. Newcastle look to be in a great position to land players across Europe but ultimately they fail to get the job done.

Recently, Aston Villa beat Newcastle to signing Donyell Malen from Dortmund. Malen was offered to Newcastle earlier in the transfer window but Mitchell turned down the opportunity to sign him.

The Magpies could do the same thing before the end of the window too. Real Sociedad star Takefusa Kubo has been offered to Newcastle. The club declined the offer which would have set them back £50million.

Now, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Newcastle have lost the race to sign a highly thought of Championship star.

Fabrizio Romano confirm Romain Esse Crystal Palace medical

Romain Esse is set to join Crystal Palace. The 19-year-old has impressed for Millwall this season, scoring four goals in 24 Championship appearances.

Mitchell was an admirer of Esse and wanted him at Newcastle. The sporting director sent Newcastle scouts to watch Esse earlier in the season. Unfortunately, his efforts have all been in vain.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirmed on X that Esse had a medical booked with Palace on Friday before finalising a move to the London-based club. All that needed to be done was sign the contract. He’ll join Palace for £14.5m.

Newcastle still had a chance of signing Esse just over a week ago when Palace made their initial approach. Mitchell chose not to pursue a deal for him. Mitchell has ordered Newcastle to recruit youth from overseas in an attempt to save money and find some potential gems for the future.

Newcastle are about to confirm the signing of 17-year-old prodigy Kyle Fitzgerald from Galway United in Ireland. Vakhtang Salia has also agreed a move to Newcastle, he will join the club on his 18th birthday in August.

Eddie Howe needs new faces at Newcastle

Newcastle are on a charge for Europe, and even though Howe doesn’t want to admit it, a charge for the Premier League title as well.

Failure to bring in new faces in January could seriously jeopardise their chances of returning to the Champions League or even better. Newcastle take on Bournemouth on Saturday at St James’ Park where Howe’s starting XI will most likely be unchanged.

Miguel Almiron’s imminent departure means Newcastle will be a man lighter for the latter stages of the season. It could all be a recipe for disaster.

The feeling around Tyneside is that Newcastle aren’t looking to add more bodies to the squad in January. If any more players are sold before the end of the window there’s a big chance Mitchell could be forced into action.