When Newcastle United became the ‘richest club in the world’ in the eyes of the wider footballing world, there was an expectation from some that lavish £100m-plus deals would swiftly follow. Instead, to the displeasure of their critics, the Magpies have been pragmatic and composed as they carefully walk the Financial Fair Play tightrope.
The previous transfer record from the Mike Ashley era has, naturally, been smashed but Newcastle have not gone gung-ho in a bid to accelerate domestic and European success. Sporting director Dan Ashworth laid his cards on the table early when it comes to his strategy, insisting back in 2022 that Newcastle would attempt to be nimble when recruiting new players, avoiding the need to blow entire budgets on one big name.
“I hope we can be agile enough in the transfer market that we don’t go and spend £100m on a ready-made player,” Ashworth said. “We have to be creative. We have to look at emerging talent, enhancing our academy, investing in potential, not performance.”
The same can’t be said for Newcastle’s Premier League rivals in recent months, namely Chelsea. Roman Abramovich’s drawn out exit ultimately prompted a spending spree the like of which the Premier League has never seen before with American businessman Todd Boehly taking over at the helm and subsequently blowing outrageous sums of cash on players.
Chelsea have forked out over £1billion in the first three transfer windows under Boehly’s stewardship, naturally piling pressure on the Blues who are failing miserably at present. Two players feeling the heat more than most given their excessive transfer fees are Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.
Fernandez was hauled off after 62 minutes in Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough on Tuesday evening, trudging to the touchline after being thoroughly outplayed by former Newcastle man Dan Barlaser. The midfielder didn’t make the grade at the Magpies back in the day, then left St James’ Park for Rotherham United in 2020 but has bounced back in the north east under Michael Carrick.
Fernandez’s struggles at the Riverside come after the Portuguese midfielder was twice made to look bang average by Newcastle’s teenage prodigy Lewis Miley. The 17-year-old had Fernandez on the back foot on two separate occasions in 2023, prompting more questions over his £107m price tag.
Caicedo, who cost £115m in the summer, is also struggling to replicate his previous form since his lucrative Chelsea switch. The Ecuadorian midfielder also looked all at sea when featuring at St James’ Park as a Brighton player late last season.
Of course, given Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice’s recent success, it’s not to say £100m-plus deals can’t work out in the modern game. But Pochettino’s side have spent £222m on two struggling midfielders alone, while Newcastle have spent a similar amount on Alexander Isak, Sandro Tonali, Sven Botman, Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon combined.
The north east outfit look set to keep their powder relatively dry this month, with eyes already turning to a summer recruitment drive once the club know whether they will be back in Europe next season. But you can almost guarantee there will be no £100m arrivals on Tyneside for as long as Ashworth has his say.
Given the success of recent windows, no one will be losing sleep over that prediction.
