Why the negativity on Newcastle United bids for these players? | OneFootball

As we move towards the end of June, Newcastle United have made a number of bids for transfer targets.

A widespread consensus across the media that this week has seen offers go in for three players.

These bids for three of Eddie Howe’s longstanding targets – James Trafford, Anthony Elanga and Joao Pedro. The Times  and others though, reporting that all three opening bids have been knocked back.

Whilst naturally it would have been great to instead have reported that Burnley, Forest and Brighton had all said an instant yes to all three offers, I still see it as a massive positive that Newcastle United are now making these moves to try and get targets landed ahead of the squad’s return for pre-season next month.

However, I have seen and heard a very different reaction from others in the Newcastle United fanbase, instead seeing this as some kind of huge negative.

Some fans wanting to portray this as a sign of incompetence in Newcastle’s approach to the transfer market. Supposedly concrete evidence as to why United are doomed to failure in landing the signings needed this summer.

Certain fans saying what has happened is an embarrassing reflection on how the club go about things when it comes to the transfer windows.

The fact is that as we all know, PSR issues meant the last three windows, Newcastle United had to accept major signings weren’t possible. In order to stay within three year limits after the ambitious and essential transfer activity of the first four transfer windows after the NUFC takeover. These last three windows needed to balance things up AND so that the club would be ready to go again this summer 2025 window with renewed ambition.

For some people, ambition in the transfer market equates to agreeing to pay whatever is asked for when transfer fee and wages are demanded.

The Newcastle United hierarchy have shown in past transfer windows, that when there has been the capability to spend, that they are more than willing to make ambitious relatively expensive signings, committing to some £350m just on Isak, Botman, Hall, Livramento, Gordon, Barnes, Tonali and Bruno.

At the same time though, the message that has always been pushed out by the club, is that these Newcastle United owners are determined not to be taken for a ride, not to be seen as mugs who will pay whatever any club and player asks.

You look at other clubs and see astonishing amounts paid out in transfer fees and wages, that are light years beyond what the players’ true value is. A prime example being Man U, players such as Antony, Hojlund, Sancho and others, having crazy amounts of money thrown at them and reality is that they can’t even get in what is a woeful Man U team.

Back in time, one of the truly mad moments in modern day Premier League history, came when a quarter of a century ago, Peter Ridsdale led Leeds United on a disastrous spend whatever it takes period of time, that almost finished the club off altogether. However, they didn’t get off lightly, as the Leeds fans saw their team drop to the third tier and it took almost two decades to return to the Premier League and even now, are still struggling to avoid becoming a yoyo club between the top two tiers.

When looking at what went wrong at Leeds United back in the early 2000s as they looked to make sure they would be at the top end for good, this signing summed it all up.

Peter Ridsdale looking to sign Derby midfielder Seth Johnson who had one cap for England, a £7m transfer fee agreed, then wages to be agreed.

Johnson telling his agent that he was looking for a pay rise of £8,000 a week, to go up from £5,000 at Derby to £13,000 at Leeds. Yet when Johnson’s agent went into his meeting with Ridsdale, before he could set out what the player was looking for, the Leeds chief said that the best they could offer was £30,000 a week. Mistaking the stunned expression on the agent’s face for disbelief at a poor offer, Ridsdale immediately upped the wages on offer to £37,000 a week. So a very average Seth Johnson suddenly became the then (2001) reportedly second highest paid player in the Premier League.

Coming back to these recent days at Newcastle United and the three offers turned down. I don’t see it as any kind of a disaster, more a case of United moving things to another level, whereby signings will now be completed, whether it is one or more of this trio and/or alternative targets.

To get to the point of making bids, a lot of work and talks will have already gone on, following extensive scouting of the targets, so any formal bid made for a player isn’t some out of the ether moment, that a club suddenly decides to do.

I think you also have to accept a couple of other things.

There are undoubtedly many bids for players that are made but never get made public.

Whilst alternatively, with many other formal bids when they are made, one or move of the parties involved (clubs, agents, player) are keen to put it out there in the public domain. Some might claim it could be Newcastle United with these three bids, making the bids public so as to try and convince fans that they are looking to make ambitious signings this summer. However, I would guess far more likely that this week it is more likely to be the (potentially) selling clubs and/or agents wanting to make public that these United offers have been turned down. Both to placate their fans by showing they aren’t a soft touch, as well as hoping to attract other bidding clubs and at the same time publicly pressure Newcastle to make higher bids.

Newcastle United are clearly in a position this summer to spend serious money, but at the same time have a number of positions to strengthen and the budget that is available, needing to cover all of the essential/wanted Eddie Howe targets, both in terms of transfer fees and wages.

Nothing wrong with going in lower when it comes to making initial bids for players and my belief is that further negotiations will take place. Then if there is a deal to be done and all parties willing, Newcastle United will be ready and able to successfully sign at least one or two of Elanga, Trafford and Pedro, possibly all three. Plus other signings also set to be made by NUFC this summer.