It proved an excellent January transfer window for Newcastle United | OneFootball

How was the 2025 January transfer window for Newcastle United?

That window now closed.

At 11pm on Monday night it finally slammed shut.

So where does that now leave us?

Newcastle United business in the 2025 January transfer window:

In:

Nobody

Out:

Isaac Hayden – Loan deal to Portsmouth

Charlie McArthur – Loan deal to Carlisle

Travis Hernes – Loan deal to Aalborg BK

Alex Murphy – Loan deal to Bolton

Miguel Almiron – Permanent move to Atlanta United that could be worth up to £11m

Jamie Miley – Permanent move on a free to Hartlepool

Lloyd Kelly – Loan to Juventus with an obligation to buy, NUFC in line to bank around £20m in total

For me personally, it was an excellent January transfer window for Newcastle United.

‘Idiot’ I hear you all shout.

Followed by ‘Explain yourself. How can seven players going out, three of them who were part of the first team squad, with nobody at all coming in, be described as an excellent January transfer window???’

Well, it all depends on which way you look at it.

In the most simple terms, you have to accept that Eddie Howe has a weaker squad now for the rest of the season, after the business in the January transfer window.

Three of those who were part of the first team squad are no longer there. Alex Murphy, Miguel Almiron and Lloyd Kelly all heading out, nobody coming in.

The reality though is that Alex Murphy is a young player who needs to get first team football on loan to progress and wouldn’t have played any part in the first team.

Whilst in this recent run of 10 wins from 12, Miguel Almiron and Lloyd Kelly have hardly got on the pitch.

In the Premier League this season, Almiron has made one start in the defeat at Chelsea, playing just 150 PL minutes in total. Whilst Kelly has made just one PL start since September and that was the home defeat to West Ham when both Burn and Botman were unavailable, the now Juventus defender having played only 300 PL minutes for NUFC.

I feel a bit sorry for Lloyd Kelly because he hasn’t had any kind of a run of games to show what he could potentially do. However, fact remains that we now have both Botman and Burn available, who are both much better options than Kelly based on everything we have seen. Whilst Hall is undisputed first choice left-back and for me, Targett is a better left-back than Kelly (who I always saw as a central defender in terms of his best position). Both Trippier and Livramento can also play on the left if needed.

Miggy Almiron has been a great servant to Newcastle United for six years but I don’t know anybody who thinks it wasn’t time for him to leave. Certainly this season, when he has got on the pitch he hasn’t given NUFC anything going forward. If as expected both Wilson and Barnes are back this month, then I doubt Miggy would then even have made the bench.

Long-term gain

This is of course what it is really about.

Yes, I am no different to the rest of you, if one or more quality first team contenders had signing in this 2025 January transfer window then I would have been buzzing.

However, the reality is that this was never going to happen.

So what this month’s outgoing business has done, is give Newcastle United a serious boost when it comes to doing future incoming business, in the summer and beyond.

Almiron turns 31 in six days time, Kelly turns 27 later this year, neither of them would have been first team contenders for the rest of this season and beyond.

If kept until the summer, I think we are looking at outgoing deals for the pair that would have seen Newcastle United lucky to generate half as much money as they are going to do for the duo.

To do deals that will bring in £30m+ and almost all of that pure profit, Kelly a free agent when he arrives and Miggy here six years and the remaining amortisation amount negligible.

Also, as we have previously found, no guarantee that Kelly and/or Almiron would have found new clubs in the summer.

When you add in the fact that even in this next half year, these January outgoing deals will surely save at least £5m in wages as well.

From a PSR/FFP perspective, I actually think this has been a stunning January transfer window for Newcastle United.

Newcastle United have to make tough decisions if the club is going to get to where it needs to be and whatever ‘risk’ any of you want to believe is attached to allowing Kelly and Almiron leaving is surely minimal.

Plus of course something that I haven’t even mentioned, none of the Newcastle United players who are actually key to our chances this season (and beyond), not even a suggestion that any of them could have left in this January transfer window. Well, unless you are one of the clueless band of fantasist former Arsenal