The summer 2026 Newcastle United transfer window was incredibly busy.
A time of massive change at St James’ Park.
So many new Newcastle United signings coming in, even more players leaving.
The squad had a very different look once the Newcastle United transfer window closed in early September.
Fans left to evaluate the newcomers that we would be relying on to help navigate the 2026-27 season.
This is a breakdown of that Newcastle United transfer window when it comes to the signings made, the transfer fees are based on what was generally reported and they include the reported potential future add-ons in each case.
Goalkeepers
£24.6m Ewen Jaouen, £25.7m Lukas Hornicek
Defenders
£29.5m Amar Dedic
Midfielders
£23m Sean Steur, £35.5m Aladji Bamba, £52m Nico Gonzalez, £3m Ousmane Diabaté
Attacking players
£43m Bazoumana Toure, £51m Matias Fernandez-Pardo
For me, there is a glaring summer 2026 Newcastle United transfer window blind spot that is now costing NUFC dear.
It feels like a lifetime ago now but let me take you back to the start of the 2025-26 Premier League season.
In the opening five Premier League matches of last season, Newcastle United kept four clean sheets.
In the opening 16 matches in all competitions of the 2025-26 season, Newcastle United kept seven clean sheets, The 16th game of last season was a 2-0 Champions League home win over Athletic Club.
As for the final 42 games of Newcastle United’s 2025-26 season, how many clean sheets were there?
I will list them, it won’t take long!
The 4 January 2026 we had Newcastle 2 Crystal Palace 0, 18 January 2026 it was Wolves 0 Newcastle 0, 21 January 2026 we watched Newcastle 3 PSV 0, then 14 March 2026 we had Chelsea 0 Newcastle 1.
That was it.
Only four clean sheets in the final 42 matches of Newcastle United’s 2025-26 season!
So for me, there is a glaring summer 2026 Newcastle United transfer window blind spot.
In such a busy summer window, there were nine signings made but only one defender.
Amar Dedic signed at full-back, but you also have to note that in that summer window, United got the likes of Kieran Trippier, Emil Krafth and Matt Targett off the books. Whilst Alex Murphy went out on loan for this season.
This 2026-27 season so far, Newcastle United have conceded 21 goals in 13 matches and still haven’t kept a clean sheet at home since January, ten months ago! If you don’t keep a clean sheet then you have to score at least two goals to stand any chance of winning.
Newcastle United don’t do grinding out 1-0 victories!
The last 1-0 United win at St James’ Park was against Wolves, Nick Woltemade’s scoring debut on 13 September 2025! Just the 14 months ago.
Away from home this season, Newcastle United have actually kept three clean sheets and all these matches ended unsurprisingly in victories. We have had 2-0 away wins at both Palace and Spurs in the league, plus a 1-0 at Millwall in the Carabao Cup.
On the Monday (10 March 2025) before the Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool, Newcastle won 1-0 away from home at West Ham in the Premier League thanks to a Bruno goal. That was exactly 20 months ago today, since then Newcastle have only had the three 1-0 victories, home or away (Wolves home in September 2025, away at Chelsea in March 2026, then Millwall away in September 2026).
We all know that the UEFA SCR impact meant Newcastle United had to sell some high transfer fee players and get a fair few high wage players off the books, whilst recruiting younger generally lower transfer fee and wage players to rebuild the squad.
However, it is baffling why more of the available resources wasn’t aimed at improving the defence. Especially when it is seen as far easier to find far better value in the overseas markets when recruiting promising defenders, than is is to land promising young players to score and create goals.
I am always generally wary of this modern trend of having a Sporting Director dictating which signings are targeted, rather than the manager being the main man.
For me the jury is very much out on Ross Wilson and the decisions he made this summer, both players sold and bought in.
The manager is surely far better placed to know the priorities in terms of positions that need strengthened and the players who can best fill them.
Wilson’s decision making means that when it comes to the back four, Newcastle United are still relying on the same four central defenders that were here last season when only four clean sheets in the final 42 games of the 2025-26 campaign.
Lewis Hall is the only left-back, whilst at right-back we now have Amar Dedic and the rarely fit enough to play Tino Livramento.
The ‘planning’ appears to be that if Dedic and Tino can also play left-back if needing to, whilst Lewis Miley can act as an emergency right-back. This can all swiftly fall apart though as we have already seen. With Tino unable to get and stay fully fit this season as he was injured in the summer, it means that Dedic gets injured and already we have Miley having to be right-back, which also then prevented him getting a run in the team where he needs to be in midfield AND where the team need him! Whilst we have been lucky that Lewis Hall is the team’s best player and hasn’t got injured, yet.
Meanwhile in the centre of defence, only 13 matches gone so far and a case of shuffling deckchairs around on the Titanic with no combination so far really convincing from the same quartet who were here last season! They include Schar and Burn who both turn 35 this season and surely at least one young promising central defender should have arrived in the summer window, both for this season AND the future.