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Opinion

The 6 Newcastle United transfers that sum up crazy Mike Ashley plan now

6 years ago
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Newcastle United transfers this summer were the ongoing debate.

Or rather, the lack of them.

In the end there were seven altogether that came in, but with only £22m spent on transfer fees in total and a £20m+ net profit, Newcastle fans were once again asking why Mike Ashley wasn’t letting the club speculate to accumulate.

The thing is, spending more realistic money isn’t just about accumulating extra points.

It actually also makes more sense when it comes to making more money and/or increasing the value of the club overall.

These six Newcastle United transfers below, are proof that when spending more money on signings, it as given better value for money and works out cheaper in the long run.

Now in his 12th season, Mike Ashley has only allowed the club to buy six players for over £10m, this has been the outcome for each of them:

July 2015 Gini Wijnaldum bought for £14m from PSV

July 2016 Gini Wijnaldum sold for £25m to Liverpool

July 2015 Aleksandar Mitrovic bought for £13m from Anderlecht

July 2016 Aleksandar Mitrovic sold for £22m (rising to £27m) to Fulham

August 2015 Florian Thauvin bought for £13m from Marseille

June 2017 Florian Thauvin sold for £10m to Marseille

January 2016 Andros Townsend bought for £13m from Tottenham

July 2016 Andros Townsend sold for £13m to Crystal Palace

July 2015 Jonjo Shelvey bought for £13m from Swansea

Jonjo Shelvey surely worth at least £20m if Newcastle sold him

July 2016 Matt Ritchie bought for £12m from Bournemouth

Matt Ritchie subject of a reported bid of around £15m this summer from Stoke

In total, these six players cost around £78m.

The same six players have been sold (or current valuation) at a total of £105m.

The only one of those six that the club has made a loss on, is Thauvin, and even then it was only a £3m loss. However, his signing and time at the club was handled spectacularly badly and by the time Rafa came in, the situation was irretrievable. Ironically, Florian Thauvin has proved to be a very talented player, Marseille’s star man and back in the France squad, with now a valuation in excess of £50m.

So actually Newcastle’s £78m investment in the six players could have actually ended up in sale prices/values of around £145m, getting on for double their purchase prices.

Whether by sheer luck and/or good judgement, when Newcastle have bought at a higher level, it has been shown to be financially sound decisions long-term.

Contrast this with the legions of cheap and cheerful ‘bargain’ players that Mike Ashley has insisted Newcastle try and rely on, especially in these past four transfer windows under Rafa Benitez.

With players such as Joselu, Manquillo and Atsu, you get what you pay for. Players who aren’t good enough and who you will also then struggle to move on, whilst at the same time paying out wages year after year.

The same happened previously with players such as Haidara, Obertan, Marveaux, Anita, de Jong and Riviere, amongst others.

There has been the odd cheaper buy who prove far better than their price tag, but often that has been because of contract clauses etc – Ba having a free transfer release clause on West Ham’s relegation, Cabaye having an agreement he could leave Lille for £4.5m, whilst Dubravka had a £4m clause written into his loan deal.

Under Mike Ashley, Newcastle have repeatedly ended up with a squad largely filled with players who weren’t good enough but who couldn’t be shifted.

The message is that if you are prepared to buy Premier League level players at the market price it gives far more chance of success on and off the pitch.
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