The dust hasn’t quite settled on the 2022/23 season yet, with Manchester City rounding everything off with a bid for the treble on Saturday but the Premier League transfer rumour mill is already in full swing.
After a season that exceeded all but the most optimistic Newcastle United fans expectations, we find ourselves in the mix for the Champions League in 2023/24.
Unlike our last foray into continental competition, NUFC now have owners who will look to capitalise on this success and build a squad to compete, but with FFP a consideration, which Newcastle United signings do we target?
Putting my years of Football Manager experience into action, I’ve decided to have a go at outlining some potential Newcastle United signings across the areas I feel we need to strengthen in the squad. Before doing this, it’s worth pointing out that there are several players I expect to be moved on in some capacity and a handful of others who may leave if the terms are favourable.
Players I have in the latter category include Dubravka, Targett, ASM and Anderson (potentially on loan). I’d be more than happy to keep any/all of these at the club but you can make a valid argument for their availability for transfer. It’s also worth noting that we are linked with many more players than the ones mentioned below, these are just the ones I think are most realistic, mixed with a few personal choices.
Goalkeeper
This might seem like a position we have a lot of options in and neither of these guys are any better than our current back-ups, but hear me out.
Fraser Forster / Tim Krul
Champions League squad rules mean that our squad size is capped depending on the number of players we have that were trained at the club.
Currently we only have two regular members of the first team squad who fulfill this criteria, Paul Dummett and Sean Longstaff (Elliot Anderson would be on “List B” for youth players).
To maximise the number of outfield squad players, signing either of these as a back-up keeper would be a savvy move.
Right Centre-Back
I’ve been a massive fan of Fabian Schar since his days at Basel and I don’t expect Howe will be in a massive rush to upgrade on him.
However, despite his leadership qualities, I imagine Jamal Lascelles’ limitations in passing out from the back put him on the list of players who will be likely to depart, so competition / back-up for Schar next season is essential.
Fikayo Tomori
Tomori represents a premium option with an estimated transfer value of around £40 million, however, he’s widely seen as the future of the England defensive line (if Southgate ever moves on from Maguire).
He primarily operates from the left side of centre for Milan but he’s right footed and would pair well with Botman. His long passing accuracy of over 60% is superior to Schar, in an area where the Swiss has excelled this season.
Stefan de Vrij
With his contract up after the Champions League final, de Vrij is a seasoned Champions League player who would be available for nothing. Reports out of Italy suggest he’d like to extend his stay with Inter but he’d surely be worth a punt even though he is the wrong side of 30.
Joachim Andersen
While he’s unlikely to immediately usurp Schar in the line up, the Dane is actually surprisingly similar in the way he plays.
He’s an excellent passer of the ball from the back and carries a bit of a spiky competitive edge (ask Darwin Nunez and Jefferson Lerma). His transfer value is estimated at £25-30 million, probably about right for a player with his Premier League and international experience.
Left-Back
Dan Burn has had a season for the ages and before his injury troubles, Matt Targett was an excellent performer in this area.
That being said, moving forward you feel there is room for improvement here and, if the transfer rumours are to be believed, so does Eddie Howe.
Purvis Estupinian
Brighton’s left-back was a consistent performer across the season (ignoring his performance at St James’ in May). The Seagulls would likely demand big money for him which may make him too pricey for an area we already have depth in.
Kieran Tierney
Seemingly surplus to requirements in North London, he’s a lad that has been constantly linked with us since January.
While he’s undoubtedly a quality player his injury track record does concern me.
Rico Henry
If you don’t watch a lot of Brentford, he may fly under the radar, but he’s been one of their star players for me.
An athletic left back with an eye for a goal/assist, he’s valued at £20 million and if you could get him for anything close to that you’d have an absolute steal.
Kyle Walker-Peters
One of the few players to finish the season with any credit for Southampton, he’s primarily a right back but can operate on the left. With Southampton going down you may be able to negotiate a good deal on an estimated value of £20 million.
CDM
This would be my number one priority when it comes to transfer business.
We’re worryingly short of depth and quality in midfield and a few injuries and suspensions could really wreck our season. Due to this I’ve included a few expensive options we’d probably be priced out of but feel they are worth a mention.
Declan Rice
It’s taken me a long time to get on board the hype train for Rice but West Ham’s struggles this year strangely highlighted how important and effective he is in the middle of their team.
West Ham’s quoted price of £120 million probably prices us out of the market for him considering we need to invest in several areas but we’d be an absolute powerhouse if he were to line-up alongside Bruno and Joelinton next year.
Moises Caiceido
He’s been heavily linked with Arsenal, as has Rice, and would cost about £80 million, so isn’t cheap.
Ultimately, they will only be able to afford one, so we should certainly consider swooping in if they opt for the England man. He’s proven to be the premier ball winning midfielder in the Premier League over the past season and his positional flexibility only enhances his desirability.
Kephren Thuram
One of the most highly rated young midfielders in France, at only 22 years old he would offer excellent value and is currently rated in the region of £30 million. He’s on the radar of several of our rivals so is a logical target, if Caicedo and Rice go, he would be left available.
Ruben Neves
I’m a big fan of Neves and with only 12 months left on his contract and Wolves’ financial woes, they will have to sell him this summer. Rumour has it he has agreed terms with Barcelona but they aren’t in a position to finance the deal, so we could pinch him from under their noses if they can’t sell players to bring him in.
Tyler Adams
The combative American would likely only be a squad player but he has Champions League experience and would add depth to our squad.
There are some question marks over his injury record but as aplayer who wouldn’t be expected to start week in week out, could be one to flesh out the squad if he’s available late in the window.
CM
With midfield depth being key to our success next season I think it’s likely we’ll see two central players signed over the summer.
Two of these guys can also operate in a more advanced role also so perhaps would negate the need to sign a forward too.
Dominik Szoboszlai
The Hungarian has been heavily linked during recent weeks and for good reason. At 22 he has already racked up over 30 caps for his country and is now the captain.
Had he not withdrawn from Euro 2020 with injury he would likely be a lot more visible on Premier League fans radars. A creative midfield playmaker who can also operate in advanced areas, he’s comparable to James Maddison.
Mohammed Kudus
Probably more of a number 10 than an attacking 8, Kudus would offer something different to what we already have and could be a flexible attacking option. He was the driving force behind everything positive Ghana did at the World Cup in Qatar.
Scott McTominay
A very different player to the two others I have named but there’s a reason his name has been linked with Newcastle several times over the past few months.
It’s taken me a good while to appreciate what Sean Longstaff adds to our midfield and McTominay is probably one of the closest fits to Longstaff in terms of work rate off the ball in the Premier League. He’s also got a better eye for goal than Longstaff so would be an excellent back-up / rotation option for him. If you could get him for £25 million or less I think it’s a good deal.
FW
As much as I love Jacob Murphy and what he brings to the squad we probably need to upgrade our attacking options.
I would opt for a winger / forward player over a striker as we already have two excellent options in the number 9 position. I think we have enough flexibility in these positions that you could target either a left or right sided player.
James Maddison
The fact we have been continually linked with Maddison would suggest that Howe is a real admirer of the player. Ideally, I think he’d be most effective higher up the pitch but he could also drop back into midfield. He has a proven track record of delivering goals and assists in the Premier League and with Leicester’s relegation you won’t get better value for him than right now.
Moussa Diaby
We seemed to be continually hit with rumours that he was going to be our marquee signing last summer. While that didn’t happen then, we are now a Champions League team and better positioned to make a play for the Frenchman, who needs to be operating at the top level to establish himself in a very strong France side.
Jack Harrison
A slightly disappointing year coupled with Leeds’ relegation would likely see a reduction in the kind of fee that was being touted for Harrison a year ago.
He’s a player who’s capable on either wing and has a proven track record in the Premier League. Not a marquee signing but one who immediately adds quality and depth to the squad.
Wilfred Zaha
Now a free agent, Zaha has maybe one shot to prove himself one of the Premier League’s true top players. He’s been nothing short of talismanic for Palace over the years and despite a spotty injury record and a bit of a sulky attitude (at least looking on from the outside) he’s a consistent performer.
Marcus Thuram
I adopted Borussia Mönchengladbach as my German team back during the COVID lockdown and Thuram has been one of their top players during this time. As a member of the France squad at the World Cup in Qatar he clearly sees himself playing regularly in the Champions League, which is likely why he’s left Mönchengladbach on a free. Rumours are that PSG want to pick him up but if that doesn’t work out he’d be an excellent signing for relatively little outlay.
So having laid out my options I need to settle on which Newcastle United signings I would want our club to try and land.
Media speculation has suggested we are working with a budget of £100 million. These estimates have been consistently less than what we have actually spent over the past two windows so I will allow for a budget of £120 million. Add into that some player sales of perhaps £25 million (Lascelles, Darlow, Manquillo, Lewis, Murphy) and you’re left with a budget of £145 million. Bearing this in mind I personally would go with the following, leaning on Premier League experience rather than European glamour.
Ruben Neves (£35 million)
James Maddison (£40 million)
Scott McTominay (£25 million)
Rico Henry (£20 million)
Joachim Andersen (£25 million)
Tim Krul (<£1 million)
Whatever happens I’m sure we’re in for an exciting summer. Roll on Milan in September!