Newcastle cannot afford for transfer history to repeat itself

Aston Villa‘s 2024-25 end-of-season awards dinner was in full swing when Damian Vidagany took to the stage.

“There is no big six anymore,” he declared to loud cheers 12 months ago – and such a sentiment will have plenty of support on Tyneside.

Just as Aston Villa disrupted the established order to qualify for the Champions League in 2024 and 2026, so too did Newcastle United in 2023 and 2025.

Yet the league’s highest-earning clubs have hardly withered in the face of the challenge from outside the six, and Tottenham‘s pursuit of midfielder Sandro Tonali is a reminder of that.

Newcastle have had to become better sellers following years of imbalanced trading, but it still feels a world away from the feeling around the club going into last summer.

Eddie Howe and his players had not long ended a 70-year wait to win a major domestic trophy by defeating Liverpool in the EFL Cup final, but they had also secured Champions League football for the second time in three seasons.

They had a degree of financial headroom again following several windows of relative parsimony, yet it was still a struggle for them to land their top targets – let alone keep hold of their top players.

“It was very difficult to attract the players that we wanted, that we felt could really make a difference to the team,” Howe said last month. “I certainly don’t think that challenge is going to be easier. It is going to be harder.”

Those words proved rather prophetic.

Newcastle managed to sign highly-rated goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen from Stade de Reims for £18.5m before the window even officially opened.

However, just when it appeared they were in pole position to land top target Victor Munoz, the winger joined Liverpool from Osasuna.

It felt like Groundhog Day for supporters after Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike, James Trafford and Benjamin Sesko opted to move to Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United respectively last summer.

The club cannot afford for history to repeat itself, but it is easy to forget the window only opened on 15 June.

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