Let me preface this by admitting that I am a Manchester City fan, but this makes me perfect to write this blog, right?…right? Throwback to when Martin Tyler woke my entire house up and the great Sergio Aguero scored the winning goal in the 95th minute at the Etihad Stadium against QPR to win City's first top-flight trophy since 1968. We saw pictures of Sir Alex Ferguson ushering his team off the pitch across the road as if City had even drawn, United won the title. I was young, but even then I knew the magnitude of what had just happened. From that point on I was a City fan. As my obsession with City grew, I became more educated and stumbled across a man named Sheik Mansour and the Abu Dhabi United Group, who had purchased Manchester City only three years prior to us winning that drought-breaking title. City’s new owners actually bought Aguero that previous summer transfer period in 2011. Not only would he win us the 2011/12 title, but he also went on to win us four more premier league titles with the help of Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Fernandinho and… Carlos Tevez. These were all players bought by City’s new owners, who were used as foundation blocks to lead City into a new era that would prove to be very decorated to this day. Enter Newcastle United FC, who were just recently purchased for an eye-watering £305 million pounds by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. So, with money that can sign literally any player on the planet (*cough* FFP *cough*) and because of my history with Manchester City, I feel I’m the best man for deciding who they should be looking at signing. We’re going to follow the same model as City: young, extremely talented, but may not be at the right club for them right now, and will be looking to take Newcastle to the next level.
Donny Van De Beek
Potential cost £27m ($49.15 AUD) #FreeDonny - Donny is super frustrated at United and so he should be. United may have sacked Donny's best mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but that sour taste must still linger for Donny. He is still not finding himself in the starting team for new manager Ralf Rangnick, so while the limited playing time and blatant snubs still continue, consider this as perfect timing for Newcastle. The January transfer window is right around the corner, they could be in the box seat to buy the Dutch midfielder at a discounted price.
Max Aarons
Potential cost £35m ($63.72 AUD)
Fresh off being nominated for the EFL Young Player of the Season - 21-year old, homegrown full-back, Max Aarons, would be an awesome coup for Newcastle. He’s played every single minute for a struggling Norwich side so far this year, but Aarons is the least of their issues. If Norwich fail to turn their results completely 180°, Aarons might have to force his way out of there - he’s far too good for Championship level football. Aarons has been linked with the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Arsenal but he might just be reunited with old Norwich teammate Jamal Lewis at Newcastle United.
Alexandre Lacazette
Potential cost £25m ($45.51 AUD)
Newcastle love a traditional number nine and one who is unhappy at a Europe chasing club. Lacazette and Arsenal just haven’t been able to build a happy relationship together. It’s no secret that Arsenal as a team is nowhere near where they are expected to be on the ladder. Lazazette himself has shown his quality in spurts but often follows those appearances up with mediocracy. He has scored double-digit goals in every premier league campaign he’s had, but has never broken the 15+ goal mark Arsenal expected him to reach regularly as he did at Lyon. Can Newcastle build around Lacazette and get him back to his Lyon prime?
Ousmane Dembele
Potential cost £90m ($163.85 AUD)
In Bayern Munich’s Amazon prime series, Serge Gnabry said:
“Dembele is much better than Mbappe”.
So with that, I rest my case! But in all seriousness, this would be a fantastic pick up for Newcastle. It’s no secret that Dembele’s current club, FC Barcelona, are in the pits of hell with their current financial situation. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were willing to let Dembele go for a discounted fee just to free up some wage space. While he really isn’t as good as Kylian Mbappe, he is still a great young winger who on his day can mix it with the best in Europe. The key is that he just has to stay healthy.
Franck Kessie
Potential cost £40m ($72.82 AUD)
Kessie is a wanted man. The likes of Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG and Juventus are all linked to him at the time of writing. Although Newcastle may not win the popularity contest among those clubs listed above, sometimes money talks and Newcastle absolutely beat all those clubs when it comes to finances. Kessie is 24, he is an absolute beast in the midfield often deployed as a box-to-box midfielder and hails from the Ivory Coast, eerily similar to Manchester City legend Yaya Toure. Newcastle could develop into a world-class midfielder, this would be a major buy.
Alexander Isak
Potential cost £70m ($127.44 AUD)
This would be a major statement pull for Newcastle! At 22 years old this could be the target man Newcastle have longed for and can lead them for the next decade-plus. In the La Liga, last season for Real Sociedad Isak netted 17 times in just 34 starts. This was enough for a top 6 finish, a finish higher than the likes of Antoine Greizman, Iago Aspas and Morales. He’s already a proven goal scorer and has the potential to be one of the best strikers in the world in the not so distant future.
James Tarkowski
Potential cost £25m ($45.51 AUD)
This one doesn’t really meet the criteria of young and in the wrong environment at his current club. However, this would be the defensive stalwart and leader that Newcastle needs to excel and turn things around right now to stay in the Premier League. The Englishman has been a beast for Burnley ever since joining from Brentford in 2015, playing over 30 games in every Premier League season since 2016. It also just so happens that Tarkowski is in the final year of his contract at Burnley so, Newcastle would be silly to not kick the tires on this guy and bring him up North.
While writing this, I found myself getting really hyped up for Newcastle United fans that have followed this historic club for a long time. No matter what happens when a club is bought out in this manner, there will be controversy and salty rival fans. The hard work starts here though, first Newcastle actually need to stay in the Premier League, that will be easier said than done, but it is imperative for the future of the club that they stay in the top flight. Then they will want to absolutely nail the first few transfers and really set the club up for a long time. All-in-all, the fans in the North East should be really excited to see where this club takes them!
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