It was a suitably surreal note to end a strange summer for Newcastle United.
The sight of Kieran Trippier – whose Newcastle future remains unclear – sheepishly lifting the Sela Cup as a reward for beating French side Brest came after a close season of unexpected change at St James’ Park.
The truth is uncertainty still stalks a club whose ambition is clipped by the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability regulations (PSR).
The exit of co-owner Amanda Staveley, appointment of Paul Mitchell as director of football and a bruising dash to comply with PSR in June has shaken things up and the club is still working out how things will work this season.
The concerns Eddie Howe spoke about in Germany have not yet gone away.
And a subdued July means all eyes are now on how Mitchell operates in the final three weeks of the transfer window, with Newcastle set to be – in the words of one person familiar with plans – “very busy”.
Like it has for the rest of the Premier League, a flat summer market has changed things, reducing the scope to sell unwanted players and squeezing the margins.
“We thought the dominoes would start to fall, but it has just not happened. It’s been the most difficult summer I’ve ever known,” one Premier League executive told i late last week.
PSR remains a problem for the Magpies, with insiders telling i it reduces Newcastle’s capacity to buy game-changing players unless they sell.
Their experience in June has clearly created new caution and they’re not getting any favours from Saudi Arabia or the PIF-owned clubs there, despite the links to Newcastle’s majority owners.
Howe says he now believes they will get one new player in – the original plan had been two and a young forward, who arrived last week in the shape of the promising William Osula – with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi the man in the spotlight.
Talks described as positive and optimistic have been taking place again in recent days to bridge a significant variation of as much as £10m in valuation.
If they meet in the middle at £55m with achievable add-ons, it feels likely to happen given Guehi’s interest in the move and personal terms as good as agreed.
That Newcastle are prepared to pay a club record fee tells its own story.
An injury to Fabian Schar, who limped off in the win against Brest with a twisted ankle not deemed to be serious, showed how precarious the situation is.
It all feels a far cry from those initial days when Newcastle were supposedly the richest club in the world.
That was never the case – PIF are long-term investors and sources say they demand any money invested has to be done with a provable benefit down the line – but PSR has given Newcastle more than a few headaches.
“I’ve always said throughout my coaching career, money does not guarantee anything,” Howe said.
“My belief and philosophy has always been that it’s about the quality of your group, it’s about the unity you can generate.
“It’s about having a never-say-die spirit and money doesn’t buy you those things, it’s work and interactions with the players and a really tight-knit group that does.
“Of course it’s nice to evolve your team and have the further resources which we can’t really utilise currently. But I wouldn’t change it. I think the position we’re in currently, we have to make the best of what we have and I guarantee you we will work towards that.”
It is far from doom and gloom, either. By virtue of players returning, they look stronger, with Sandro Tonali’s return in less than a month much anticipated by management.
They also had a big enough squad to be able to beat two Champions League-bound sides in 48 hours over the weekend, dispatching Girona on Friday before a less fluent defeat of Brest a day later.
Harvey Barnes’ goal, cutting in from the left before dispatching beyond Marco Bizot, settled a game in which Osula showed some nice touches.
With fitness, one or two recruits and Howe at the peak of his game, they have the potential to challenge once more – provided they avoid off-field disruptions.
“I hope, whatever way we play, you will see a team that leaves it all out on the pitch next season,” Howe said.
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