Four Newcastle United signings.
Goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen the first to arrive this summer, signing from Stade de Reims.
Winger Bazoumana Toure then coming in from Hoffenheim.
Followed by Ajax midfielder signing on at St James’ Park.
Bringing it up to date, Aladji Bamba coming in from Monaco late last week.
Four Newcastle United signings having already arrived before NUFC were yet to play their first pre-season friendly (the kick about against Darlington was a behind closed doors glorified training session before the first public showing on Saturday against Gateshead).
Five pre-season friendlies still to come and the first team squad also having a trip to La Manga to look forward to, further helping the new Newcastle United signings to integrate, the squad to gel.
What’s not to like?
Also the small matter of more than £125m (£24m Jaouen, £43m Toure, Steur £23m, Bamba £35.5m) already committed.
And yet….yet, I sense amongst the fanbase so much negativity surrounding these new signings.
My feeling is that for a sizeable number of Newcastle United fans, especially due to Manzambi and Munoz choosing to go to Villa and Liverpool respectively, then any player who does decide to sign for NUFC can’t be all that good and must only have done so because no other major clubs wanted them.
What is even worse, is that a hardcore vocal minority of Newcastle United fans have dug themselves such a deep hole of negativity, there is what feels like a desperate need to be proved right. All but wanting these new signings to fail in order to ‘prove’ that Newcastle United are failing, that Eddie Howe and the recruitment team aren’t up to the job.
This is a dangerous reaction to the new intake, especially when they are such young players and none of the quartet have played a single minute in the Premier League in their careers.
I think it is absolutely vital that everybody is fully behind Eddie Howe and whoever the eleven Newcastle United players are on the pitch when the Liverpool match comes around. That if things go against NUFC early in the season the fans show their support, especially to the young players/new signings, instead I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that a lot of fans are simply waiting for the very first opportunity to continue the relentless negativity that pervaded late last season.
The Newcastle United owners massively messed up in summer 2025 with the transfer window, especially when it came to having no CEO or Sporting Director working last summer and the abysmal way the NUFC owners handled the Alexander Isak situation.
We saw David Hopkinson and Ross Wilson belatedly start in their respective CEO and SD roles after the summer 2025 window and clearly there has been a very well defined plan in this summer 2026 window.
Partly through choice but mostly forced by the SCR (Squad Cost Ratio) restrictions, especially with UEFA having theirs set at a SCR of 70% of revenues allowed to be spent on transfer fees and wages (Premier League is 85%), we have seen a combined £170m of deals done for Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon when leaving, plus a significant reduction in the wage bill as a number of other senior players also leave, the likes of Trippier, Targett, Ramsdale, Ruddy and Krafth.
Anthony Elanga obviously still has it all to prove to Newcastle United fans after failing to reproduce what he showed at Nottingham Forest but I think that Jacob Ramsey and especially Malick Thiaw have proved very good signings though would have been a huge help if that pair had been signed earlier and had a proper pre-season with NUFC..
The really big negative hangover coming from the very final stages of the summer 2025 window when the Newcastle United owners suddenly did a giant u-turn and did sell Alexander Isak, only then that sale allowing the essential two new strikers to be signed to replace Wilson and Isak. A total mess as the essential two strikers not signed until weeks into the 2025/26 season, Yoane Wissa gets instantly injured and far too much then asked of Nick Woltemade, plus no chance of a pre-season to integrate either striker. I also can’t see how anybody can see it as a total disaster when a young inexperienced striker comes from another league and scores 11 goals, making 36 starts in total.
The reality is as well, Eddie Howe and these Newcastle United owners had a previously outstanding record in the transfer market. A total of £35m to capture Pope, Trippier and Burn, two existing England internationals and one future one. As well as a series of excellent young players from home and abroad in the shape of Hall, Isak, Livarmento, Botman, Minteh, Gordon, Tonali, Bruno…
The transfer market has never been as competitive as it is now, Premier League clubs collectively set to have record expenditure on signings this summer.
To try and get ahead of the curve, Ross Wilson and Eddie Howe so far recruiting three 20-year-olds and an 18-year-old.
I can’t comment on Ewen Jaouen because I haven’t seen anything of him in action but what I have seen of Sean Steur, Bazoumana Bamba and Aladji Bamba (pictured below), they all look players of real potential.
How quickly that potential might be realised is an unknown.
However, I think far more chance of that happening sooner rather than later, if the Newcastle United fans support and stay with them no matter how things go early on.
I think this summer is tough, a very harsh time for other ambitious clubs as the ‘Premier League big six’ have such a huge advantage with the SCR rules. The same as Newcastle United, Aston Villa find themselves having to make some very tough decisions to stay with the UEFA 70% rule on transfer fees and wages, even though they have Champions League commitments to deal with in the coming season.
I believe more (young!) new signings will follow this summer and I already have my imaginary prayer mat (to an imaginary God) out, hoping that Bruno Guimaraes will remain and be a key figure in helping to knit a far younger and less experienced team and squad together this coming season.