The “Northern Notebook” is i‘s weekly look inside the biggest football clubs in the north of England, providing insight, analysis and news on the burning issues of the day
Manchester United hope to unlock their transfer frustration with a triple move early next week – as they move forward with the signings of Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Frenkie de Jong.
Erik ten Hag’s overhaul has been slowed by difficult negotiations over many of the club’s prime targets – even if the early signs in pre-season are that he is having some success transitioning the players to a high pressing game.
It has been stressed that this will take time, however, and will be dependent on him managing to recruit the players he wants.
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Eriksen was understood to be undergoing final tests ahead of signing a three-year contract which should be announced next week while a fee has been agreed for De Jong, the Netherlands international Ten Hag has been desperate to land.
There is still work to do on that deal but after weeks of negotiations, it’s felt there is now a path to complete it.
That would be a much-needed fillip for CEO Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough, who have been criticised for the often glacial pace of discussions on the club’s key targets. While other clubs have landed their big targets, the Old Trafford club have seen De Jong discussions drag on due to the complicated nature of the financial position of Barcelona.
But as one recruitment specialist pointed out to i, it is whether the deals are done that matters rather than when.
Meanwhile, the club continue to insist Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale after Chelsea ended their interest in the forward.
Newcastle sitting tight on striker signing
When, not if.
That is the message from senior sources at Newcastle about attacking reinforcements in a market that is proving taxing for a club that was set out before the summer the limits of their spending power.
Newcastle have signed Sven Botman, Nick Pope and Matt Target but ideally want a winger and a striker before the end of the transfer window. Bayer Leverkusen’s France international Moussa Diaby remains a player of interest but the club are a long way apart on valuation and there’s little prospect of that closing in the next six weeks. That move could be revisited in future windows, like Botman was.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is another who remains on the radar but Newcastle have been quoted a figure far in excess of their budget. They were told Anthony Gordon is not for sale by Everton last week.
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It all points to how important something going on in the background is: the search for a main club sponsor. Liverpool’s announcement that they have inked a £50m-a-year sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered Bank has focused minds at Newcastle, where the Fun88 sponsorship is worth around £6.5m.
Boosting that commercial power – and the club can point to metrics that show there are far more eyeballs on them now – is key to the club’s long-term aim of competing for trophies.
While PIF are subsidising the club’s transfer spend, the reality is it was always going to be a long-term project. The club also needed a huge expansion of support staff and work is ongoing in beefing up nearly every department at Newcastle.
All change at Burnley as Cullen checks in
These are interesting times at Turf Moor, where Vincent Kompany is stamping his authority on Burnley after nearly a decade of Sean Dyche.
The club’s financial constraints have made sales inevitable, and that continued with the £20.5m departure of Nathan Collins to Wolves. But insiders believe Kompany has been a “breath of fresh air” at the Championship club – and say there is much more recruitment work to do.
Burnley are looking to recruit a centre-back and sources in Belgium claim they have an interest in Anderlecht goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
As i reported on June 23, Josh Cullen was one of their priority targets as they look to move to a different style of football and a new culture under their new boss. The midfielder joined from Anderlecht this week as Kompany continues to overhaul his Clarets squad.
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