Patience. Positivity. Panic. There you have the Newcastle United transfer-window mood board.
Depending on the day, or even the hour, that pendulum of emotion is working as hard as a transfer team who are desperate to avoid a repeat of last summer.
To recap, that means selling players who want to leave at the right time, not on the last day of the window. It means moving quicker and more decisively on incomings. It means being in control.
Last year, the club were the tragicomic lead in their own soap opera, with little say as to the script. The Saudi-led owners had left Newcastle without a chief executive or sporting director in a summer in which they were trying to negotiate the British record sale of Alexander Isak. That is on them. It was negligent and led to £250million of largely misspent or overspent business coming in.
That was a failing of the structure, not those within it. Head coach Eddie Howe was let down by a club that he, conversely, had never let down. The sequel to the soap opera was a horror show of a season, at least by previous high standards.
This time, the right personnel are in the right places with sporting director Ross Wilson and chief executive David Hopkinson, but the right outcome is not guaranteed.
Victor Munoz was on the brink of joining Newcastle before Liverpool gazumped them
Howe is ‘all in’, say sources, after a post-season period of reflection. He has returned with optimism. Spirit, though, can soon be tested at a club whose stated ambition, No.1 in the world, does not tally with the reality of their situation. It is why some of their top stars want to leave – more on that shortly.
It was a blow for the recruitment team when their first big pursuit of the window, for Osasuna and Spain winger Victor Munoz, ended in Liverpool hijacking the deal. For those who were inside St James’ Park 12 months ago, when the Reds gazumped their move for Hugo Ekitike, it had a haunting feel. Here we go again. Panic.
There was better news this week when Bazoumana Traore, a 20-year-old winger from Hoffenheim, arrived on Tyneside for a medical ahead of a £42.5m transfer. The Ivory Coast international fits the profile Wilson is working to, which is 18 to 24 year olds with a high ceiling for improvement. Positivity.
A deal for Switzerland midfielder Johan Manzambi is being discussed but progress has not been as swift as hoped. He is currently with his country at the World Cup. Patience. Manchester United are said to have a longstanding interest in the 20-year-old and Manzambi’s eye-catching performances in North America would not have helped. Panic? Not yet.
Newcastle have been told they are at the front of the queue and the numbers involved with the player and his club Freiburg should not be an issue, but they thought that about Munoz. Man United’s midfield priority is also Alex Scott of Bournemouth.
Newcastle will push ahead and hope remains that Manzambi will arrive. There is, though, a danger that others could join the race. Newcastle have a reputation among rivals for identifying good players, and that is one of the reasons they are vulnerable to those clubs copying their homework.
Matias Fernandez-Pardo, of Lille and Belgium, is a versatile forward they like a lot, but the 21-year-old is said to want Champions League.
Elsewhere, club chiefs have maintained a dialogue around Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford, but have been told he will only decide on his future after the World Cup. He remains the top target to play ahead of Ewen Jaouen, the 20-year-old keeper who has joined from Reims for £18m.
A deal for Switzerland midfielder Johan Manzambi (above) is being discussed
A right back is also wanted and they have shortlists in every position, but those moves will be dependent on outgoings. Already gone is Anthony Gordon to Barcelona and Sandro Tonali is in the departure lounge headed for Tottenham.
At £70m and £92.5m respectively before add-ons, both deals represent fair value for Newcastle. They needed to trade this summer, evidenced by £5.2m’s worth of UEFA fines for breaching financial rules.
Gordon wanted to go to accelerate his career, while Tonali was driven as much by lifestyle and a desire to relocate his family to London. But both had concerns about the speed, direction and delivery of the Newcastle project.
That, it should be said, is related to infrastructure and ownership – still no new training ground, for example – and not coaching. Howe and his backroom team have improved every player, and Gordon and Tonali would acknowledge that as being integral to their development. Combined, the profit on the pair could rise to £80m.
One profit that would feel like a loss at any price is Bruno Guimaraes. As revealed by Daily Mail Sport, representatives acting on behalf of the club captain have spoken to Arsenal and, in turn, have spoken to Newcastle with what is said to be a verbal offer. That was instantly dismissed and the message back was that Guimaraes is not for sale.
Bruno Guimaraes’ representatives have spoken to Arsenal but a verbal offer was dismissed
It is a concern for Howe and Wilson, though, that such conversations have taken place. Why? It would suggest their most influential player is keen to explore his options. Newcastle, we can reveal, will talk about a new contract with the Brazilian, if that is what he wants. So far, with him at the World Cup, the full picture remains unclear.
As a contingency, midfielders remain on the radar. Felix Nmecha, of Dortmund and Germany, is admired and conversations have taken place, but that is a pricey deal to do.
Lamine Camara, of Monaco, has been linked but that is unlikely to happen. The preference and the plan is to keep Guimaraes. Howe believes his skipper has a quality that is priceless.
But everyone else, well they have a price, that is the upshot of PSR, SCR and FFP. That is why Newcastle’s transfer situation remains fluid. Patience. Positivity. Panic. Only 60 days to go.
