Once a week (mostly) for an hour during the Premier League season, The Athletic’s Newcastle United subscribers can ask our writers covering the club for their views and insight into what’s happening at St James’ Park.
Here, we have pulled together some of their questions and our answers from Monday’s edition of our Inside Newcastle live Q&A, which included queries about Bruno Guimaraes’ future, why the club still has financial limitations heading into the January window and whether Sandro Tonali’s role in the XI has finally been settled.
Want to ask us anything Newcastle-related? Chris Waugh will be back next Monday at 2pm GMT (9am ET) for another session.
What in your opinion is the priority order of positions for new signings? I would say central striker — Danny T
Waugh: It’s a moot point what my opinion is, even if I agree that a central striker is imperative at some stage. All of the initial soundings have been that, despite Callum Wilson’s latest hamstring injury, which will sideline the striker for around eight weeks, January transfer plans remain largely unaltered.
There is no guarantee Newcastle will sign anyone, even if there is a desire throughout all levels of the club to strengthen, but the focus remains a right-sided attacker or a centre-half. Newcastle will be flexible and could pivot to another position if a player they have admired long-term becomes available, but the belief is those are the two positions they could most feasibly improve.
The issue with signing a senior centre-forward remains that, with Alexander Isak the first choice, what calibre of striker could Newcastle attract to come in as his deputy?
Beyond that, wages and transfer fees remain restricted by limitations governed by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR). With Wilson almost certain to remain on Tyneside beyond January given this injury, his salary cannot be moved on. Whether the one-year extension in his contract, which Newcastle could exercise unilaterally, will be triggered remains unclear.
Obviously, should Isak succumb to injury, then short-term plans may change. Anthony Gordon is seen as his backup, then William Osula will be afforded greater minutes, even if he remains raw. It is far from ideal, but Newcastle are not facing an ideal PSR situation.
(Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Is there the possibility of us losing Guimaraes in January to Manchester City given they are missing Rodri? — Liam B
Waugh: Manchester City’s need for central midfielders is acute and Pep Guardiola does hold a long-term admiration for Guimaraes, something he has told the player during (brief) exchanges. Guimaraes, too, believes he is a Champions League-standard player and there would be a temptation to explore such a move.
For now, however, this all remains theoretical. Those inside Newcastle are adamant there has been no contact from Manchester City ahead of January and, for a signing of that cost and magnitude, it would be unusual for there to have been no movement at all already. Newcastle, meanwhile, are determined not to lose any of their star players in January — Guimaraes, Gordon or Isak — and do not have the PSR need to move them on, either, with fringe sales likely to suffice.
That is not to dismiss this as a transfer entirely. Guimaraes is liked by Guardiola, has Premier League experience and operates as a No 6 (even if he has shifted to No 8 recently). But Newcastle would demand a significant fee for Guimaraes — probably not the £100million ($126.9m) figure that was attached to the release clause he previously had in his deal — and it would not be a straightforward deal for them to complete.
I understand the club is never going to say they’ve got money to spend, but money was available for a big bid for Marc Guehi then surely there’s some available for January? — Alex T
Waugh: Undoubtedly it is in the club’s interests to play down expectations ahead of January and to plead poverty, but the message has also been consistent from everyone inside Newcastle that PSR remains an impediment.
That is not to say there is no money to spend — there is some capacity to invest without significant outgoings, but it is unlikely that Newcastle will be bringing in a player who costs tens of millions (unless they can agree a loan-with-an-obligation-to-buy structure, which few clubs will commit to).
Newcastle’s PSR position means they may need to sell fringe players, such as Miguel Almiron, before June 30, as much to free room in the wage budget that was bloated by Gordon and Joelinton’s improved contracts, as anything else. And additional spending in January also needs to be offset, as would have been the case had Newcastle signed Guehi from Crystal Palace.
That was an investment Newcastle were willing to make, recognising that it would require a sale to balance out, but it was one they believed was worth it. Any sale did not necessarily need to be made last summer, even if that would have been ideal, and could take place any time up to June 30. According to club sources, speaking anonymously, like all sources in this piece, to protect relationships, such a scenario remains the case.
Newcastle may sell fringe players such as Miguel Almiron (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
Do you think Lewis Miley will get some first-team runouts this festive season? — Eric B
Waugh: Newcastle have been very cautious with Miley since his return to fitness, given he suffered from a back injury last season and then a foot problem during the summer. The first injury was at least partly down to his continued physical growth, given he is only 18, and Newcastle are conscious about protecting him.
Still, Howe believes Miley has immense potential. He came on in the 89th minute against Chelsea on October 30 but has not appeared for the first team since, not even being named in a squad since the November international break. Miley did get a 79-minute runout for the under-21s against Crystal Palace on November 29, however, in a bid to get game time into his legs.
There is a chance Miley may return to the squad for the Carabao Cup quarter-final with Brentford, given Sean Longstaff’s suspension, while Joelinton is banned for the weekend so the teenager may travel to Ipswich. For now, unless injuries and suspensions hit, the plan seems to be to ease Miley back in gradually, so I would not expect to see him exposed to too much game time. However, Howe will not hesitate to call upon him if necessary.
Any idea if PIF is less involved with Newcastle now given the Saudi Pro League and the upcoming World Cup? Also, what is Jamie Reuben’s involvement these days? — Stuart H
Waugh: How interested or otherwise PIF remains in Newcastle is something that all journalists who cover the club, including ourselves, are repeatedly asking.
There have been suggestions the delay in committing to extend St James’ Park or build a new stadium, and the delay in pushing forward with a state-of-the-art training facility, shows a shift of focus away from Newcastle and onto other projects, such as the Saudi Pro League, the 2034 World Cup or LIV Golf.
Such claims have been dismissed, publicly by Darren Eales, the CEO, and Paul Mitchell, the sporting director, and privately by multiple figures connected to PIF and Newcastle. Their response is that a decision on the stadium is taking time because they are conducting such thorough research to ensure they make the correct long-term call and that it will happen. As for the training ground, the rebuttal is that at some stage an elite facility will be built (although a timescale remains elusive). Club sources point to the recent £35million ($44m) investment via a share issue as evidence of PIF’s commitment.
A statement from PIF themselves, or even better the ability to ask questions directly to senior officials from the fund, would go some way to pacifying supporters who are becoming increasingly sceptical about their interest.
Reuben is spending a lot of time in New York at the moment, which is why he has not been visible at as many games recently. He remains on Newcastle’s board, though, and his family’s stake increased to 15 per cent during the summer.
It seems Bru-nali is finally working. Has this changed transfer plans? — Anonymous U
Waugh: There have been far more promising signs with Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali playing together recently, although drawing definitive conclusions from a resounding victory over a meek Leicester would be foolish.
Regardless, Tonali has looked far more comfortable since moving inside and nominally playing as the No 6 and with Guimaraes shifting to the No 8 role, rather than the other way around.
Tonali was excellent against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and has improved during his starts since. He dictates play well from the base of midfield, directs quick first-time passes forward and adds an incisiveness to Newcastle’s attack.
Yet he is not operating as a conventional defensive midfielder. Tonali and Guimaraes are dovetailing nicely, switching positions within games, with one sitting and the other attacking into space. Often against Leicester, Tonali would surge towards the box, allowing Guimaraes to drift deeper and become the orchestrator.
(Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
Interestingly, Howe made a point of replying to a question earlier this month about whether Tonali should have been picked ahead of Guimaraes as a deeper midfielder sooner by stressing that one of the Brazilian’s assists against Liverpool “came from the No 6 position”.
Their respective fluid/hybrid roles were, at least partly, the intended plan all along, and were supposed to be when Guimaraes has started at No 6 and Tonali at No 8. In practice, it has rarely worked successfully when it has been that way round, though, and Tonali has been more assured in the middle.
As to whether that alters transfer plans, that is not the message coming out of the club. A centre-back and a right-sided forward are still the priorities.
(Top photo: George Wood/Getty Images)
