Newcastle are the richest club in the world – so why are they struggling to sign new players?

Just three new signings 

If Newcastle United had hoped to sign a player that would commit themselves 100 percent to the new lofty ambitions ushered in by the club’s new owners, they couldn’t have hoped for a more obliging signing than Nick Pope. In a recent interview with the Athletic, the former Burnley shot-stopper wasted no time explaining just how big a project he believes he had finally joined. 

“In the next few seasons, I imagine England squads will regularly have multiple Newcastle players in,” Pope said in the interview. “That’s something others will consider — they’ll see Newcastle is a pathway to the England team now. I can’t imagine many other teams that an England player would rather sign for than Newcastle at the minute. Within football, people see Newcastle as an exciting place to be now. That’s the picture of the club I had in my mind and that’s why I’m here.”

Indeed, now owned by the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund, the Magpies are comfortably the richest club in the world. And with large piles of cash, success often tends to follow in the modern world of football. However, despite everything now being in place, Newcastle haven’t exactly been setting the world alight in the transfer window. 

Diaby, Maddison & Co. – Newcastle struggling to sign stars

Following a winter transfer window which saw the club spend a notable fortune on Bruno Guimarães, Chris Wood, Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier, many expected Eddie Howe and his backroom staff to scour the continent for the best players that money could buy. But, instead, the Geordie side have made just three signings so far this summer, in the form of Sven Botman, the aforementioned Pope and a deal to make on-loan defender Matt Targett a permanent signing. So why aren’t Newcastle spending all of their money? 

The answer to that tricky question seems to be that the club are doing all they can to spend it, but are seemingly struggling to find willing clubs or players that will take a shot on Howe’s side in their first full season as the richest club in the world. And we can see that in the club’s most recent tussle with another Premier League side for their star player. In the past week, the club have been heavily linked with a move for Leicester City midfielder James Maddison. The England playmaker is undoubtedly a smart signing, but due to Newcastle’s new-found wealth, the Foxes are holding out for at least £60m. A figure that St James’ Park side seem reluctant to match, according to reports in England. This frustration will certainly be nothing new to Newcastle fans, who have had to either contend with clubs playing hard ball or players simply not wanting to risk a career move on a work-in-progress. Once source close to Newcastle transfer target Moussa Diaby told Transfermarkt that while Bayer Leverkusen may have happily negotiated a price for the winger, Diaby himself had no interest in joining the St James’ Park side in its current iteration.  

Homepage