Newcastle United's big 'selling point' ahead of summer buys
Newcastle United can get to work in the transfer market after a return to the Champions League – as Aston Villa count the cost of defeat.
Maybe Newcastle United got what they deserved against Everton for an underwhelming and anxious performance.
But a 1-0 defeat was not in the script.
Thankfully, though, the club still got what it deserved after a long and challenging season.
Not that most fans inside St James’ Park, without a mobile signal or WiFi network, knew the club’s Premier League fate when referee Tony Harrington called time on the contest.
The previous weekend, a second-placed finish had been a possibility. However, a defeat at Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium by the same scoreline had ended hopes of a runners-up spot.
Those supporters trying to get a signal on their phones at the final whistle had headed to St James’ Park for the final game of the season knowing only a win would guarantee Howe’s side a place in the Champions League.
Then came confirmation.
The Champions League anthem was played on the PA system to confirm a second season in the competition in the space of three years.
Europe, again.
Newcastle had followed up their historic Carabao Cup triumph with a fifth-placed finish after Manchester United – who had denied them a place in Europe a year earlier – controversially beat Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
Steve Bruce used to talk about the “accumulation of points” during his time as head coach, and the club finished above Villa on goal difference thanks to the points they had accumulated over the a nine-month period.
And the 2024/25 season will go down as the best in living memory for most United fans. It is arguably as good as anything since the 1927 league triumph.
What’s more remarkable is that it followed an “unsettling” summer which had seen the departures of co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, and that the club has not been able to spend any significant sum for the past three transfer windows due to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Transfer funds
The last significant window in terms of incoming signings was in the summer of 2023, when Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento arrived along with loanee Lewis Hall.
This summer must be different.
Newcastle will bank upwards of £80million from its participation in the Champions League, and, coupled with growing commercial revenues, this windfall should give the club a strong hand in the transfer market at a time when other teams will be forced to sell for PSR reasons (like United did with Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh last summer).
Champions League football, of course, is a big “selling point”.
“The power of the Champions League, and the pull of the Champions League, is huge, and we can’t get away from that, the excitement that this will bring for the people here,” said Howe after the game.
“And of course it’s a selling point for us now. It’s an opportunity for us to sell that dream to future players that might be considering coming to us.
“We’ve got to get the financials right. We’ve got to get every other aspect of trying to sign players here right. Hopefully, we can do that.”
There will also be departures. An emotional Callum Wilson, out of contract this summer, was in tears after the final whistle as he waved to fans, while other players are also facing uncertain futures.
Supporters did their best to read the body language of a number of players, including Anthony Gordon, during the post-match lap of appreciation.
Big names could well move on in a big summer for the club.
For now, fans can celebrate one of the biggest success stories in the club’s long history.