Can Newcastle’s youth revolution deliver success or just growing pains? | OneFootball

Alan Hansen famously said, "You can't win anything with kids" regarding Manchester United in 1995. An opening weekend defeat at Aston Villa, fresh from selling senior stars that summer, saw Hansen claim that Sir Alex Ferguson's side could not win the title. That group of young players proved him wrong by being crowned champions the following spring.

Newcastle United appear keen to take a similar route this summer. Eddie Howe's side have secured Champions League qualification twice in the last four seasons, but struggled last term to finish in the Premier League's bottom half.

Exits have followed. Anthony Gordon was first to depart for Barcelona in a £69m deal, while Sandro Tonali moved to Tottenham Hotspur in a club-record £92.5m deal. Those sales followed Alexander Isak's exit for Liverpool last summer, while Arsenal are pursuing a deal for Bruno Guimaraes. The core of Newcastle's side has been stripped, and after a series of rejections in the transfer market over the last 12 months, the Magpies look to have changed focus.

Newcastle have spent around £110m this summer on four new signings, each of whom is yet to see their 21st birthday.

The move is deliberate.

Newcastle have beenbeaten to the punch too often when it comes to signings in recent windows: Hugo Ekitike, Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, James Trafford, Johan Manzambi, the list goes on.

In an era ofPremier League Profit and Sustainability (PSR) and Squad Cost Ratio (SCR), Newcastle have been unable to compete with the Premier League's revenue-generating giants. Even the wealthiest backers in football cannot control modern rules.

Instead, Newcastle are aiming to build from the ground up. Invest in potential that can grow together and succeed, or improve to an extent where their sales generate profit to reinvest.

Borussia Dortmund have been cited as a role model. The German side have focused predominantly on youth recruitment and have operated at a profit of around €147m across the last decade, having received around € 1.15 billion in transfer fees. No side in Germany has brought in more funds through player sales, while only four teams in Europe have had higher sales.

Across that period, Dortmund have never finished lower than fifth in the Bundesliga, winning two DFB-Pokal titles, and becoming Champions League regulars. It's a world away from their financial issues of the early noughties.

However, the Bundesliga lacks the competitive depth of the Premier League. Can Newcastle really sustain success with inexperienced recruitment?

English sides boast finances to dwarf those of European rivals, with even those new to the division capable of spending. Newcastle need not look far to see how Sunderland thrived last season, backed by Premier League riches after promotion.

Newcastle's new era looks a gamble, a bold bid to find an alternate route through the Premier League's glass ceiling. In Sean Steur, Bazoumana Toure, and latest recruitAladji Bamba, the Magpies have acquired a trio of talents with rich potential.