Mike Ashley is gone, Steve Bruce is gone, and Newcastle are now on the hunt for players to significantly improve the squad.
Amanda Staveley and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia have untold amounts of money to spend, and can afford practically anyone.
However, they aren’t going for the likes of Neymar just yet.
What’s the story?
Well, PIF are seemingly trying to make sensible signings, and have identified Wolves captain Conor Coady as someone who’d be just that.
According to The Sun, the 7-cap England international is viewed as someone who would add plenty of leadership to Newcastle’s squad.
Gary Lineker seems to agree with that sentiment, as he wrote that Coady is someone who’s clearly ‘admired and popular’ after he scored his first England goal.
Wolves are believed to want £20m for the 28-year-old, but are reluctant to lose him to a Premier League rival.
If they received that sum, it would represent a huge profit on the £2m they gave Huddersfield for his signature in 2015.
Should Newcastle sign Conor Coady?
In our view, this would be the ideal signing to kick off PIF’s reign.
It must be tempting to spend millions on the best around, such as Kalidou Koulibaly, Raphael Varane and others.
However, it’s important to give this lucrative project a solid, homegrown foundation of players who know the Premier League well.
In that respect, bringing Coady to St James’ Park would be a shrewd move.
He’s right in the midst of his best years at 28, and would offer plenty away from the pitch with his leadership skills.
In addition to that, the centre-back department is severely lacking in quality.
Emil Krafth and Ciaran Clark both started against Crystal Palace on Sunday, both of whom aren’t good enough to take Newcastle up a gear, in our view.
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