A disappointing transfer window came to an awful end for Newcastle United on deadline day.
Indeed, Newcastle’s window never recovered from a frantic June period in which owners PIF were left unhappy about the rushed business that forced the club to sell Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson in order to avoid a ten-point deduction from the Premier League.
7 Worst Pound-For-Pound Football Teams of All Time
Lloyd Kelly and Will Osula perhaps pad out Eddie Howe’s squad a touch more but describing their arrivals as pieces of business that will push the club to the next level would be a stretch, without doing any disrespect to two talented players.
Quite how the signings of goalkeepers Odysseas Vlachodimos and John Ruddy make the squad any more competitive is also up for debate.
All in all, it was a hugely disappointing window, even if figures at the club are stressing Newcastle reman ambitious.
It’s certainly safe to say that Alan Shearer was not impressed…
Alan Shearer now says Newcastle have failed Eddie Howe
Reacting after the transfer deadline had passed on Friday night, the club legend slammed decision-makers at St James’ Park.
READ MORE: Who is Alan Shearer? Stats, Height, Wife, Daughter, Net Worth
In a post on social media platform X, Shearer said the club had “failed” Howe.
Eddie Howe has already been warned by PIF
Howe was reportedly warned by PIF that things needed to improve following a difficult campaign last time out.
That would have been a reasonable request but to have not strengthened his squad in order to give him the platform from which to achieve that feels mightily unfair.
Newcastle’s rivals have pretty much all strengthened. While a reduced schedule and the return of Sandro Tonali should help matters, expecting that to be enough to improve feels like a major risk.
PIF have earned the support of the Newcastle fans of course but some perspective on the targets for this season must surely be applied.
Related Topics
