By admin 
Newcastle United had another busy summer with transfer comings and goings but the overall net spend for this window may not be as high as you thought.
While it would be wrong to claim that Newcastle didn’t splash the cash this summer, it’s actually quite surprising how well the club has navigated the dreaded Financial Fair Play rules to get the players in that they have.
Outgoings have been a different story with not much revenue brought in from player sales, but the wage bill has been lighted through several loan moves and most of the players Eddie Howe needed to move on have done.
Starting with incomings, Newcastle brought in four first-team ready players and one highly promising young prospect:
Sandro Tonali – £55million
No doubt the most high-profile and most expensive transfer of Newcastle’s summer was bringing in Eddie Howe’s priority target, Sandro Tonali for a reported £55million. The 23-year-old Italian international was brought in from AC Milan and already looks at home in the Premier League.
Harvey Barnes – £39million
Harvey Barnes soon followed showing that it was actually Barnes Newcastle were chasing at Leicester all along, not James Maddison who went to Tottenham. Barnes hasn’t started a Premier League game yet but has looked dangerous in the cameos Howe has handed to him since his £39million switch.
Tino Livramento – £32million
Newcastle parted with £32million to bring 20-year-old Tino Livramento from relegated Southampton. The youngster has bags of potential and is seen to be Kieran Trippier‘s eventual replacement. So far he’s only made a brief appearance as a sub against Manchester City.
Yankuba Minteh – £7million
19-year-old Gambian forward Yankuba Minteh joined from Danish side Odense for £7million and was immediately loaned out to Eredivisie champions Feyenoord where he has made an impressive start. Minteh bagged a goal on his Feyenoord debut in pre-season.
Lewis Hall – Loan
Newcastle and Chelsea agreed a loan with an obligation to buy for 18-year-old left-back Lewis Hall, meaning the boyhood Newcastle fan hasn’t cost us anything this summer, but will set us back up to £35million next year if he fulfils certain criteria this season. A shrewd move.
As for outgoings, there wasn’t a whole lot to shout about as Newcastle didn’t have many players who were deemed surplus to requirements, especially players who hold any significant transfer value.
Leaving the club this summer was:
Allan Saint-Maximin – £23million
Fan-favourite Allan Saint-Maximin was always the most obvious choice for Newcastle to try and claw back some revenue. He’s been half-in half-out ever since Eddie Howe arrived and it just seemed inevitable that he’d be sacrificed at some point. He was also by far the most valuable asset we could afford to lose. Maxi made a £23million switch to Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ahli.
Chris Wood – £15million
One of Eddie Howe’s first Newcastle United signings Chris Wood did the job he was brought in to do, keeping Newcastle in the Premier League. Following that he was on borrowed time at Newcastle eventually making a loan move to Nottingham Forest which contained an obligation to buy after he made just three appearances. That deal was all done last season, but the way the deal worked meant that Newcastle financially benefitted from the £15million fee this summer.
Karl Darlow – £400,000
Newcastle United had an abundance of goalkeepers and after Loris Karius signed a new deal it became clear that it was going to be Karl Darlow who would move on. Several clubs were interested in Darlow with figures of around £5million being quoted in the press. Strange then, that he moved to Leeds United for just £400,000.
Free Transfers
Youngsters Dan Langley and Joe Oliver left the club on free transfers this summer.
Loans
Newcastle were very active when it came to loaning out players this summer with no fewer than 11 players taking a temporary leave. High profile names such as Jeff Hendrick who made a deadline day move to Sheffield Wednesday, Ryan Fraser who moved to Southampton and Harrison Ashby who is enjoying a stint at Swansea are among the loanees.
Overall then, that leaves Newcastle with £133million spent on incomings, £38.4million coming in which equates to a net spend of £94.6million. Not a small figure by any means, but when you see reports saying we’ve spent £150million and are buying our success, you can now rest assured that that’s simply not the case.
Especially when you consider that Chelsea just passed the £1bn mark in player purchases under Todd Boehly. They have sold a lot too so their net spend will not be near that £1bn but it does put things into perspective