This £180m Newcastle United transfer

So, the wait is almost over, Saturday sees the big kick-off for Newcastle United, how are we feeling?

I hope everyone has enjoyed the break and their summer thus far.

An article appeared on The Mag last Saturday, that promoted a discussion on whether the summer’s ‘£180m Newcastle United transfer spending’ showed a lack of ambition.

I had a smirk and then a puzzled expression. £180m Newcastle United transfer spending?

Now I’m no accountant but the last time I checked, we had signed Sandro Tonali (£55m) Harvey Barnes (£40m) Yankuba Minteh (£7m) and Tino Livramento (£40m).

Rather surprisingly, Anthony Gordon (£40m) was brought into the reckoning. Er, why?

I took issue with the author’s comment “It’s very valid to regard him as a summer signing” for two very important reasons.

First, let’s not give the opposition, by which I mean those that wish to see us fall foul of Financial Fair Play, any ammunition to fire in our direction.

Secondly, the calendar itself tells us that Anthony Gordon is NOT a summer signing. For only a very bad accountant would fritter away a massive £40m into this current transfer window’s budget when they don’t have to, or that it’s completely untrue.

I take the point that we didn’t WANT to buy Gordon in January and would have preferred to have waited until this current window, but it remains a fact, he’s a winter 2022/23 signing and the budgets will have been tweaked and tailored to suit that deal.

It likely had an effect on and prompted the deals that saw Chris Wood and Jonjo Shelvey leave for a very healthy £15m and £6m respectively. Those two departures helped balance the books and saw us upgrade two players that were never going to follow us into this season, for a young prospect that will.

We can’t just go out and sign five or six players. For one, it risks disrupting the dressing room harmony we’ve built up and secondly, what standard of player are you going to get within the confines of our reported budget and Financial Fair Play, if we’re getting five or six of them. What do people want exactly?

We’ve added goals (as well as a better fitness record) to the team in the form of replacing Allan Saint-Maximin with Harvey Barnes. ASM flattered to deceive a lot of the time, spent too long in the treatment room and was a lit match in a darkened room . . pre-Eddie Howe. Harvey Barnes will be way more than that. What odds him getting double figures?

We have poached an outstanding young talent in Sandro Tonali, a player widely regarded as one of the best young players Italy has produced in many years and one of AC Milan’s best players.That’s AC Milan, the European giants AC Milan, Champions League semi finalists AC Milan. I’ll stop there. He partners Brazilian international Bruno (in the middle) and fellow Brazilian international Joelinton in our midfield.