This was not how it was meant to be.
Bruno Guimaraes is the new icon of Newcastle United but it is the renaissance of Emil Krafth, an unsung right-back who was written off in the mid-winter, which tells you most about how survival has been achieved with something to spare at St James’ Park.
Krafth is a £5million signing from the Mike Ashley era, a squad player who most would have happily directed to the exit door when Kieran Trippier signed for Newcastle in January. But his outstanding performance against Leicester – the latest of many – illustrated how Eddie Howe has wrung the best out of a squad with some astute training ground work.
For all that January investment to the tune of £90million helped, Newcastle have turned the tide without the injured Trippier or Callum Wilson. It has been a revival based on the foundations laid by the solid Krafth, the reliable Dan Burn and hitherto derided Joelinton.
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In reality, not that much has yet changed at Newcastle. The big ticket items – the director of football, the new CEO, the state of the art training ground, the beefed up recruitment and Academy network – are all still in the works.
Neither will the summer transfer budget be a healthy nine figure number that will allow Eddie Howe to hoover up Galaticos to turbocharge Newcastle’s push up the Premier League.
Public Investment Fund (PIF) are fairly quiet these days but the original business plan submitted to the authorities allowed for a £50million transfer budget before TV money, money banked for outgoings and additional sponsorship revenue was added on top.
That’s a decent number but also reflective of an ownership that has always stressed that they are long-term, patient investors who believe in building the foundations of the club, adding players with the character and mindset to grow with Newcastle rather than importing ready-made superstars without the infrastructure to support them.
In time, the eye-catching changes will happen. But the way they are approaching the women’s team – talking, supporting existing staff, asking how real success can be funded in a sustainable way – is reflective of the model they believe will lead to building a successful Newcastle.
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“The changes we are making, people will thank us for them in the long run,” a senior source told i. What that means is perhaps a recalibration of the more heady expectation among some supporters that Newcastle will steamroller their way through every transfer window from now on.
Amanda Staveley has talked of winning the league within five years but it feels like Newcastle will be a club of Brunos, not Bales. And when Eddie Howe spoke before the Leicester game of a summer which “may not be a revolution” and of Financial Fair Play restrictions, it hinted at the same message being sent out to agents and clubs ahead of the summer window.
“Newcastle are certainly telling people they won’t just spend astronomical amounts,” one agent tells i. “Whether there’s an element of lowering expectations I don’t know but it’s been a consistent message for a few weeks.” They are in a stand-off with Brighton over technical director Dan Ashworth’s compensation too, with the attitude that his is a long-term job, so if they have to wait until November it is not the end of the world.
What this means for the club, and what supporters perhaps need to understand, is that the owner’s priority is getting really good people in a really good structure; getting more out of what they have and what they buy. It is why Howe, how he coaches and the support team around him are going to be so important.
Last week the club advertised for a full-time sports nutritionist to join the staff. It is a long way from the Mike Ashley era, when every request was questioned.
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Newcastle’s summer plans
Scouting-wise, there’s also a belief that the club need to ape Liverpool’s model of squeezing the best out of the market. Inside the club, their partnership with Statsbomb and satisfaction with head of recruitment Steve Nickson are viewed as two important portents for the summer.
Darwin Nunez, Benfica’s marquee name striker, and Lyon’s Lucas Paqueta are two viable targets. That is the sort of player being targeted rather than Eden Hazard or Aaron Ramsey, two names linked in January.
Newcastle’s fans are lapping it up. Unity and enthusiasm has returned to the club, home games suddenly feel like an event and they have five wins in a row, even if many of them have been a question of getting the job done without playing particularly well.
On Wednesday, they welcome Crystal Palace and then it’s Liverpool at St James’ Park for a 12.30pm kick off that has already irked Jurgen Klopp. The Reds have Manchester United, Everton, Villareal before heading to Tyneside but given the current mood around the North East, their trip to Newcastle may be the hardest of the lot.
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