Newcastle United have enjoyed life under Eddie Howe, recently reaching their second cup final in three years, with a Champions League campaign sandwiched in between.
More importantly, the Magpies have risen from the Premier League‘s lower rabble to become a genuine force, pushing for a top-four finish and a sustained seat at Europe’s pre-eminent table.
While there has been PSR-related transfer frustration recently, it’s hard to argue against the success of Howe’s market strategy since joining the Tynesiders.
Howe’s best Newcastle signings
Anthony Gordon arrived on Tyneside with plenty of detractors, but after claiming Newcastle’s Player of the Year award for 2023/24 and carrying his form into the current campaign, he and his manager’s decision have been vindicated.
Before that, Bruno Guimaraes‘ arrival from Lyon was one of the major watershed events, with the Brazil midfielder now considered one of the best in the business, worth £100m and coveted by Manchester City in January.
Certainly, not all of Newcastle’s transfer triumphs have been the big-money buys. Dan Burn was one of the first to join the project, leaving Brighton for his boyhood club in a deal worth just £13m. The value for money has been immense.
However, perhaps obviously, Newcastle’s most emphatic and significant acquisition over the past several years has got to be that of the club-record man.
Howe’s best Newcastle signing
You know who. Alexander Isak has been regarded as one of Europe’s most promising forwards since his days as a peripheral member at Borussia Dortmund, but ever since leaving Real Sociedad and joining Newcastle in a £63m package, he’s gone from strength to strength.
Earlier this season, Magpies legend Alan Shearer hailed the Sweden international as a “world-class assassin” in front of goal and it’s clear to see why.
He’s coming into his own. Across all competitions in 2024/25, Isak has scored 19 goals and supplied five more assists across 28 matches, instrumental beyond league football – for example, dominating Arsenal over two legs to reach the final of the Carabao Cup.
|
Premier League – Top Scorers (24/25) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Player |
Apps |
Goals (per 90) |
|
1 |
Mohamed Salah |
24 |
22 (0.93) |
|
2 |
Erling Haaland |
24 |
19 (0.80) |
|
3 |
Alexander Isak |
22 |
17 (0.85) |
|
3= |
Chris Wood |
24 |
17 (0.79) |
|
5 |
Cole Palmer |
24 |
14 (0.60) |
|
5= |
Bryan Mbeumo |
24 |
14 (0.58) |
|
Stats via Premier League |
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Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is the only player to have scored 5+ goals at a faster rate this season, with Jamie Carragher piling onto the praise to dub Isak as “the best striker in the Premier League.”
When Newcastle paid £63m for this young and relatively untested centre-forward, you’d be forgiven for saying it was a gamble. But it’s paid off – handsomely.
While rumours of Isak’s sale persist, it would take suitors such as Arsenal to break the bank, with the 25-year-old understood to have a market value in excess of £150m, as reported by The Telegraph, which would make him the most expensive player in English football history, were he to be transferred this summer.
Let’s hope that he remains at St. James’ Park for many years to come, but if he is to go, Newcastle have well and truly hit the jackpot on their club-record signing, remarkably set to bank an £87m profit.
This would placate PSR, for sure. And then, with Howe’s track record in the market, it feels like the reinvestment could actually sustain Newcastle’s new-found position of prominence for many years to come.
Related
Newcastle nearly signed “extraordinary” PL star who’s now outscoring Isak
Mike Ashley once tried to sign the impressive forward for Newcastle United.
