While Newcastle United’s Saudi Arabian owners have taken a refreshing measured and sensible approach to recruitment – you can forget about the Gareth Bales, the Philippe Coutinhos or the Eden Hazards – they clearly aren’t afraid to put their money where their mouth is.
The Magpies invested around £120 million on shiny new additions during the summer window, and have broken their transfer record twice in less than 12 months; for Alexander Isak and (if bonuses and add-ons are included) Bruno Guimaraes.
Neither Isak nor Guimares arrived with a proven track record in the Premier League, unlike the majority of Newcastle’s recent signings. Isak, meanwhile, joins after a highly underwhelming 2021/22 campaign, in which he scored just three La Liga goals from open play in the blue-and-white of Real Sociedad.
But while Newcastle’s recruitment team have often prioritised low-risk additions (Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn for instance), there is still room in the budget the odd big-money gamble. They hit the jackpot with Guimaraes. And Isak, during an enthralling debut against Liverpool, wasted little time repaying a fraction of that £60 million investment with a wonderfully taken goal in front of a stunned Anfield crowd.
But spending £60 million on a forward with 37 international caps and 33 goals in one of Europe’s major leagues is one thing. Dropping £30 million on an 18-year-old who made his league bow less than 12 months ago, however, is something else entirely.
If Isak was a gamble, what does that make Andrey Santos?
Newcastle United could pay a colossal fee for Vasco da Gama’s Andrey Santos
Per Goal, Vasco da Gama hope to make the so-called ‘Brazilian Busquets’ the most expensive export in their entire history. And Newcastle are more than happy to help. Per Globo Esporte, the suddenly cash-rich Tynesiders are offering £30 million. A colossal sum for a footballer just weeks old when Bobby Robson was sacked in the summer of 2004.
Now, Santos is not the first fresh-faced youngster Newcastle were willing to take a punt on. That Hugo Ekitike saga remains fresh in the memory. Big-money deals for Benjamin Sesko and Braga’s Roger Fernandes were also considered. Newcastle’s underpinning transfer strategy is, in that sense, is not too dissimilar to the one Mike Ashley operated; one revolving around exciting young talent with substantial re-sale potential, albeit an upgraded version focusing on more ambitious, expensive targets.
It’s certainly hard to imagine Ashley’s Newcastle paying £30 million for an 18-year-old, no matter how talented.
‘Technically, he’s way above the others’
“Physically, he is a monster,” Lyon legend Juninho says of Santos; a barnstorming box-to-box midfielder who suits Eddie Howe’s high-intensity approach down to the ground.
“Without the ball, his participation in the game is total. I want to see his GPS, because he doesn’t stop! And technically, he’s way above the others.
“He’s not going to be better than me, he’s going to be much better than me. He is a much more complete player. At 18, I didn’t play half as much as he does. I’m not ashamed to say that.”
The arrivals of Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak made the rest of the Premier League sit up and take notice. Making Andrey Santos one of the most expensive teenagers in top-flight history, however, would perhaps be Newcastle United’s biggest statement yet.
Undisputed proof of the rock-solid confidence in their transfer strategy. Proof of the steel-jawed determined to carry it out, no matter how expensive the risk may seem.
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