Has Newcastle’s Transfer Strategy Changed?

Newcastle have long been thought to be looking into signing players younger than 26 who can be signed with the view to being sold on for a profit. It's not the most exciting policy as a number of players such as Demba Ba, Mathieu Debuchy and Yohan Cabaye come in, perform well, then move on to bigger clubs.

As a fan, I feel Newcastle should be able to keep their best players, but realistically we all know it’s a matter of when, not if, we sell Ayoze Perez, Moussa Sissoko etc, as the board feel this is what they have to do to make the club sustainable.

The club have targeted the Dutch and French markets in recent windows as we’ve seen the likes of Moussa Sissoko, Mathieu Debuchy, Remy Cabella, Siem de Jong and Daryl Janmaat all join the club. There is a market there for Newcastle as they can offer higher wages and more exposure to the bigger clubs. It’s more likely that Remy Cabella will be spotted at Newcastle and move to a Champions League club than it is at Montpellier, as Newcastle play a higher standard of league football. Unfortunately for Newcastle fans, a lot of players, especially from abroad, see Newcastle as a stepping stone to better things. Moussa Sissoko’s recent quotes confirm that.

In this window and in the summer, we have seen a slight shift in approach from Newcastle, with the club now looking to improve the options within the squad, with players like Ayoze Perez and Colback coming in, who have arrived on the basis of forward thinking, and the building of a stronger future. In Perez’ case, he has forced his way into the first team early, and Newcastle will want to add 5 or 6 talented youngsters like Perez to challenge next season.

The signing of Perez showed that Newcastle are starting to establish themselves in the Spanish market; the success of Perez will only increase their profile in Spain and youngsters will see Newcastle as a platform to progress in the game in a similar vain to Ayoze Perez. Over the last 24 hours, the club have been linked heavily with Spanish U19 international David Concha and the highly rated Spanish centre back Jorge Mere, both of whom may well be purchased in the coming days, only to be loaned back to their clubs in Spain.

This is a negotiating tactic that Newcastle are using frequently now to buy promising young players as it was used in the summer to get Jamaal Lascelles and Karl Darlow in a cheaper deal. Newcastle are also rumoured to be close to a deal for MK Dons midfielder Dele Alli who would also be loaned back to his club for the rest of the season. It’s a clever ploy by Newcastle, ensuring a previously unforeseen depth to the squad that will serve to compliment the (hopefully) bigger signing this Summer.

Although they have been hesitant in the past, Newcastle have started to look deeper into the domestic market and they have been able to pick up some really talented youngsters for a good price. English players can have a premium and a lot of the time, its high risk, high reward market: if the club can develop the likes of Darlow, Lascelles and Alli (if he signs), then there will be a huge profit on offer in years to come.

Other names linked have been Tyrone Mings and Danny Ings, both of whom have been tracked by the club for a long time. The latter would be available on the cheap in the summer when his contract expires and he already has Premier League pedigree.

It’s evident that we have a far reaching scouting network which is allowing us to pick up the best players around Europe. When it’s paired with our improving academy, the future looks bright for the club.

France, Holland and Spain have all been well covered with players being brought in. Countries like Belgium, Germany and Portugal have also been scouted according to reports. The club are starting to get things right in the world of youth recruitment and the academy.

Now they just need to improve their first team recruitment and make the correct head coach appointment in the summer. If they do that, this club has the potential to become a very promising Premier League side.