Jacob Ramsey’s lack of game time at Newcastle United this season sums up the odd nature of their summer transfer window.
During a summer transfer window like no other, Newcastle spent around £240million on six major summer signings.
Obviously, a large part of that was recouped by the sales of Sean Longstaff and Alexander Isak, but it’s still an awful lot of money.
The inconsistent nature of this Newcastle United team this season raises the rather alarming question of whether it was spent particularly well, too.
There are wider issues in play here, but Ramsey’s lack of action is an indication.
Newcastle United have spent £240m without improving and Jacob Ramsey proves it
Blaming Ramsey alone for the inconsistency would obviously be far too harsh on the former Aston Villa midfielder.
That is not the point of the argument. The fact he can’t get into Eddie Howe‘s team when Joelinton is enduring his worst season since his transformation, however, is.
Injuries haven’t helped Ramsey’s case but the fact is that the 24-year-old has been available for 13 games and has started just three of them.
14 games in, how are you feeling about Newcastle’s start to the Premier League season? 👀
The good news is we can’t go any lower in the table tonight. We could actually move up to 12th if Arsenal beat Brentford!
The signing has not worked out so far. Joelinton keeps getting game time, while Joe Willock – a player largely written off by supporters in recent seasons – is seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order.
If he can’t get in the team now, when will he?
It raises questions about Newcastle’s recruitment strategy. There aren’t yet many signs of improvement and the focus on Premier League experience looks strange.
Presumably, signing players who have previously appeared in the competition was done so that they could effectively plug in and play. Not one of them who fit that mould has done that so far.
Anthony Elanga enjoyed a good game against Everton but to suggest he’s looked worth anything like £55million would be wrong. The Sweden star looks well behind Jacob Murphy in the pecking order.
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes played |
| Nick Woltemade | 18 | 15 | 1,261 |
| Malick Thiaw | 18 | 16 | 1,470 |
| Anthony Elanga | 21 | 9 | 865 |
| Jacob Ramsey | 10 | 3 | 377 |
| Aaron Ramsdale | 5 | 4 | 373 |
| Yoane Wissa | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Aaron Ramsdale briefly looked like the answer to Nick Pope’s downturn in performances but Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Tuesday exposed some issues in his game, too.
Aside from Malick Thiaw, not a single signing has actually improved Newcastle this season.
Nick Woltemade, as good as he is, is replacing the goals lost by selling Isak.
That’s perhaps harsh and there’s little doubt he’s a brilliant player, but a (very good) replacement is what he is. The team aren’t suddenly stronger because of his arrival, even if he’s doing well on an individual basis.
Yoane Wissa may provide an upgrade on Callum Wilson but that is yet to be proven.
The Newcastle squad looks deeper following their summer splurge. It’s not yet possible to say it’s actually any better because of it.
The January transfer window will be a disaster unless Newcastle United sign a_____
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Where Newcastle United intend to go next in the transfer market
Howe wants to sign a full-back and a central midfielder in January and that feels wise.
Still, it’s all well and good making signings in those areas, but the club have to be sure they’re the right ones.
Ramsey, Elanga and Ramsdale are steeped in Premier League experience but have so far done precious little to actually improve the squad they walked into.
There have been mitigating factors, of course. It was a dramatic summer window in which Newcastle were beaten from pillar to post for much of it.
However, questions do need to be asked. Having a deeper squad isn’t really worth it if the signings brought into it don’t offer as much.
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