Newcastle United were unable to adorn St. James’ Park with bells and whistles this summer but they did bolster their backline and they also avoided a detrimental sale of a key first-team star.
Heading into the transfer window, Eddie Howe’s outfit clearly needed reinforcements after turning up a day late and a dollar short in the race for European qualification, one year on from the victorious and unforeseen campaign toward the top four, earning a place in the Champions League.
But it was a season of misfortune for the Magpies, who were knocked by persistent injuries and ultimately finished seventh in the Premier League, losing their Conference League qualifying spot after Manchester United, who finished eighth, won the FA Cup.
It must be said that while Newcastle kept the essence of their project intact, they didn’t make any actual improvements to their frontline, missing out on top attacking target Anthony Elanga.
Why Newcastle wanted Anthony Elanga
There was plenty of talk about Miguel Almiron’s future on Tyneside this summer. The Paraguayan winger has been a stalwart over the years but is not prolific enough to warrant a regular starting spot on the flank. Jacob Murphy is another to play a present part in Howe’s plans, but he too could be displaced by a superior wideman.
24/25
2 (0)
0
0
23/24
23 (13)
3
1
22/23
29 (24)
11
5
21/22
19 (8)
1
0
20/21
28 (22)
4
1
19/20
35 (34)
4
2
18/19
9 (8)
0
0
The 30-year-old could still make an impact this season, but a player of Elanga’s quality could have made a positive impact on Howe’s unit, taking the starring role on the right and allowing his older peers to contribute when called upon.
Last summer, Nottingham Forest signed Elanga from Manchester United for a fee believed to be £15m. The winger, who completed a five-year move, had shown promise at Old Trafford but was not going to work his way into Erik ten Hag’s starting lineup.
Their loss. The Tricky Trees thoroughly enjoyed his performances last season, with Elanga wrapping up the campaign with five goals and nine assists across his 36 Premier League fixtures, proving to be instrumental in the (successful) fight to stay in the division.
He might be waiting for his first goal contribution of the current campaign but the Sweden international hasn’t exactly been slacking, with an average 91% pass completion rate and 2.7 key passes per game across his opening top-flight appearances, as per Sofascore.
It’s no surprise that Newcastle have a vested interest in his signature. The Toon had been hoping to sign him on a £45m deal in the summer but were batted away with each advance.
It’s a rueful one. He’d be deadly on the right wing, and the perfect partner for Anthony Gordon on the alternate – a player who is even more valuable than him.
Anthony Gordon is shaping into a superstar
Gordon is turning into quite the player. His voracious love for reading and determined personality are eloquent of his elite mindset, and his performances in Newcastle colours have been indicative of just that.
It hasn’t always been plain sailing for the England international on Tyneside, who forced his way out of Everton in January 2023 and signed for £45m. Across the latter half of the 2022/23 campaign, Gordon worked hard but to little avail, scoring his first goal on the final day, during a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
Last season, however, he put any notion of being a ‘flop’ to bed, actually winning Newcastle’s Player of the Season award after scoring 12 goals and claiming 11 assists across all competitions, hailed by Bruno Guimaraes for his “unbelievable” performances.
Matches (starts)
35 (34)
36 (25)
Goals
11
5
Assists
10
9
Touches
44.9
30.5
Shots (on target)*
2.3 (0.9)
1.5 (0.6)
Big chances created
16
14
Pass completion
82%
75%
Key passes*
1.6
0.9
Tackles + interceptions*
1.8
1.1
Ball recoveries*
3.6
2.7
Dribbles*
1.5
0.8
Total duels won*
5.3
2.9
The 23-year-old is only going to get better and better, and while he has a distance to go before sitting alongside Europe’s very finest attacking midfielders, he carries the trappings of such a player, with the profile of a top, top superstar.
After all, he caught Liverpool’s attention during the off-season…
Anthony Gordon's market value in 2024/25
Liverpool were interested in signing Gordon this summer, with a £75m deal preliminarily in place that would see the winger return to Merseyside and Liverpool’s Joe Gomez head to St. James’ Park in return.
Newcastle circumvented their PSR problem without losing any of their most important players – namely, Gordon, Guimaraes and Alexander Isak.
It was fantastic that this was achieved, especially when considering the gravitas of Newcastle’s task: restoring its place among Europe’s elite and continuing to push for silverware.
Gordon will be instrumental in this regard. Signing Elanga would have been nice, but he’s not performing at the same level as Gordon, who is combative, cultured and creative – the full package, and he’s “fearless” besides, as has been said by Alan Shearer.
A player on the rise, the Englishman was only actually valued at £7m, as per Transfermarkt, at the time at which PIF took over Newcastle back in late 2021, although he has since soared to that £75m price tag – an increase of 971%.
When we look back at Newcastle’s summer activity, there might be an element of regret at having not bolstered as had been desired, but keeping a grip on a player of Gordon’s ilk might just prove to be more influential than the signing of Elanga would ever have been.
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