It's very hard to put a positive spin on the January transfer window from the perspective of a Newcastle United fan but we're going to try to just to try and dampen the rising tide of negativity.
First off, let's get all the negativity out of the way. Newcastle once again failed to add anyone decent to their squad, in fact, they didn't add anybody. In the landscape of the past few windows, it seems to be a concerning trend. In January 2024, we brought in Alfie Harrison, who is nowhere near the first team, a year later, we added a few youngsters who are nowhere near the first team again.
In the summer, we brought in Lloyd Kelly, and Will Osula and made Lewis Hall's move from Chelsea permanent. Only one of those has had any impact this season and it took him a year of riding the bench last season as a loanee to get into that position.
Lloyd Kelly has already been let go after he completed a move to Juventus on Deadline Day so that move seems utterly pointless at first glance.
However, if you look at it another way, we brought in a player on a free transfer in the summer and a year later we're going to scoop £20 million for him. That was actually really good business, even if it was a total fluke.
That £20 million will represent almost pure profit in terms of PSR now and when we add the money we got from selling Miguel Almiron back to Atlanta United, we should have got ourselves into a decent position in terms of PSR.
Of course, our squad is weaker now, and it was already weak to begin with. The right wing is especially barren, with just Jacob Murphy listed as a player capable of covering that position. We do have players who can fill in if we're desperate, of course, but at first glance, it's pretty frightening.
What January has taught us is that Paul Mitchell definitely knows what he's doing. He came in and said that the transfer strategy in place wasn't fit for purpose, and he was spot on. We'd spend our way into trouble and had to dig ourselves out of it. With the departures this month, we reckon we've probably done that now.
That means that in the summer, Mitchell can work his magic bringing players in, and we should hopefully get to truly see him shine. The man just got £20 million for Lloyd Kelly. He clearly knows his onions.
We're trying not to get too carried away about the thought of a huge summer spending spree, but honestly, all the signs are pointing towards a good summer. The PSR rule changes, money from player sales, and increased revenues led to posting our first profit this year. It all suggests that there will be a decent amount to play with. Maybe not as much as we'd like, but still, decent. With a bit of clever wheeling and dealing, a couple of free transfers and some clever deals, we could be looking very good for next season.
Of course, we have the rest of this season to contend with, but if we can obtain Champions League football or at least some form of European football, that should make deals easier to do. Let's keep the faith, stick behind the team and push this paper-thin squad over the line.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
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23 | 35 | 56 |
2 |
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24 | 27 | 50 |
3 |
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24 | 13 | 47 |
4 |
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24 | 16 | 43 |
5 |
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24 | 13 | 41 |
6 |
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24 | 13 | 41 |
7 |
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24 | 13 | 40 |
8 |
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24 | -3 | 37 |
9 |
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24 | 4 | 36 |
10 |
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24 | -3 | 34 |
11 |
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24 | 0 | 31 |
12 |
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24 | -2 | 30 |
13 |
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24 | -6 | 29 |
14 |
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24 | 11 | 27 |
15 |
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24 | -17 | 27 |
16 |
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23 | -5 | 26 |
17 |
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24 | -18 | 19 |
18 |
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24 | -28 | 17 |
19 |
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24 | -27 | 16 |
20 |
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24 | -36 | 9 |