Newcastle may be the most unlucky team in the Premier League this season. You can even remove the word "maybe" if no miracle happens in the remaining half of the season. About two months ago, the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Fund (PIF)’s acquisition of the Newcastle Club was approved by the Premier League. A consortium composed of PIF, Staveley and the Reuben brothers became the new owners of the Newcastle Club, of which PIF holds 80%. of shares. Backed by the big tree of PIF, Newcastle Club has also surpassed Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain to become the richest club in the world. For a time, many Magpies fans who had hidden their identities for 20 or 30 years suddenly appeared in various places. Happy Newcastle fans even wore Arab costumes and cheered in the streets. They were lucky that the team had found a rich father, and even started to The team longed for the dream of winning the Premier League and even the Champions League, but no one thought that the dream that Newcastle fans were looking forward to not only did not come, but might even usher in the nightmare of the team being relegated from the Premier League.
After PIF acquired Newcastle Club, it was collectively boycotted by other Premier League clubs, and unpleasant things happened one after another. First, some Premier League clubs complained to the Premier League that PIF's acquisition of Newcastle Club was illegal, but under pressure from the British government, this complaint was dismissed by the Premier League. Subsequently, Premier League clubs drafted a new regulation on team sponsorship. The new regulation prohibits team owners from providing huge sponsorship fees to teams in the name of sponsors. This ban has been approved by 18 of the 20 Premier League clubs. Manchester City supported the move, Manchester City abstained and Newcastle objected, but could not prevent the implementation of the rule. Newcastle will also be subject to various restrictions when spending money to buy players in the future.
For fans, Newcastle's poor record is the most upsetting thing now. When the Magpies changed hands, the league had just finished 7 rounds. Newcastle had 3 draws and 4 losses and was in the relegation circle, but it was still ahead of Norwich, which had not won a game. Premier League veteran Bruce's coaching performance this season was really bad. However, in order to show respect for the English football circle, the Saudi tycoon still let Bruce direct the game against Tottenham, helping him complete the record of coaching 1,000 Premier League games. After Newcastle lost 2:3 to Tottenham in Bruce's 1,000th Premier League game, Bruce returned home to retire with a 1,000-game coaching record and a liquidated damages of 8 million pounds.
When dismissing Bruce, Newcastle’s beautiful president Ms. Staveley believed that relying on the club’s huge financial support would attract many outstanding coaches and players to join Newcastle. Then reality told him that in the football world, Money is not everything. Newcastle's favorite coaches such as Zidane, Conte, Rogers, Ten Hag, Emery and many other famous coaches said no to the check books that were waved at them. For more than a month, they failed to find a name willing to take over Newcastle's hot potato. handsome. In desperation, the Saudi tycoon reluctantly invited former Bournemouth head coach Eddie Howe to take up the post under the strong recommendation of many English football figures and media. The latter has gained some fame in the English football circle by virtue of his miraculous promotion record of "promoting to the third level in five years" while coaching Bournemouth and his Premier League relegation performance. The most important thing is that he is a native British man, and the British head coach He has become a minority in the Premier League, which is full of world-class coaches.
When Eddie Howe took over Newcastle, the team's interim coach Jones had already led the team to play 3 games, with a score of 2 draws and 1 loss, even better than the former coach Bruce. However, due to the original bottom team Norwich defeated Brentford 2:1 and has leveled points with Newcastle, who are the only team in the Premier League without a victory after 11 rounds.
Originally, if there were no accidents, Newcastle's home game against Brentford in the 12th round would be Eddie Howe's debut as Newcastle coach. Facing a newly promoted team that has been in poor form at home, Newcastle faced It's the best time to win, Eddie Howe will also have a good start in coaching, everything looks perfect. However, as luck would have it, Eddie Howe was infected with COVID-19 a few days before the game and required isolation treatment. So Jones once again had to act as the interim coach to direct the game. In the end, Newcastle drew 3:3 with Brentford in a goal battle and missed the chance to win. What's even worse is that Norwich won again this round. They successfully surpassed Newcastle's 6 points with 8 points. As everyone expected, Newcastle finally sat at the bottom of the standings. This scene made other clubs in the Premier League happy to see it. .
No one thought that in less than two months, Newcastle fans would go from heaven to hell. The dream team's championship was still far away, and the reality of the team's relegation threat was indeed over. Right before our eyes, the dream is about to turn into a nightmare. However, it rained all night, and Newcastle not only struggled to win on the court, but also encountered obstacles in the transfer market. One of the important reasons is that it is said that the other clubs in the Premier League have privately reached a consensus that they will not do business with Newcastle this winter and will not sell players to the Magpies. This is to make it clear that they do not want Newcastle to strengthen, but they all want to watch the Magpies. Downgrade.
As we all know, one of the main reasons for Newcastle's poor performance this season is poor defense. Therefore, the Magpies' primary goal of reinforcement is the defense. However, the current goals revealed by the media are very difficult to achieve.
In terms of goalkeepers, Newcastle hopes to introduce Barcelona's Ter Stegen and Manchester United's Henderson, but the former has no interest in moving to Newcastle. Although the latter wants to get rid of De Gea's shadow and play the main role in other teams, Manchester United's arrival It is hoped that Henderson can stay as a double insurance for the goalkeeper position. Even if he agrees to transfer the player, he is not willing to do a deal with Newcastle. At present, it seems that Arsenal's Leno is a relatively realistic target. The team and the player himself have the intention of selling and leaving the team. Although Arsenal is not willing to sell to Newcastle, some things can still be discussed as long as the money is available. , after all, the Gunners spent a lot of money this year, and they hope to make some money back.
In terms of defenders, Newcastle is targeting some big-name players, and they are all players whose contracts with their teams are about to expire and have problems with renewal or who are unable to play the main team, such as Bayern's Süle and Inter Milan. De Vrij of Manchester United, Bailly of Manchester United, and Trippier of Atletico Madrid. The first two have not completed contract extensions with their teams, but have not reached agreement on their salaries. If Newcastle hopes to get them in the winter window, they will not only have to pay a large transfer fee to the club, but the salary required by the players will also be a Sky-high price. The situation of the latter two in the team is not very good now. If the player himself doesn't mind changing places, it depends on whether the club is willing to let him go, especially Manchester United. Here is a recommended target, Barcelona’s Umtiti, the Magpies can give it a try.
In terms of midfielders, Newcastle may be the most likely to gain something. It is said that Newcastle has basically reached an agreement with Juventus' Welsh midfielder Ramsey. The Magpies are willing to pay a weekly salary of 400,000 pounds for the former Arsenal player. Newcastle is also the only club willing to offer such a salary to Ramsey. team. In addition, another Juventus midfielder, Rabiot, may also move to Newcastle, provided that Juventus is paid a transfer fee of more than 35 million euros and the player is given an annual salary of more than 12 million euros. In addition, Dortmund's 32-year-old Belgian midfielder Witsel may also be attracted to join Newcastle with an annual salary of tens of millions of euros. It is said that Newcastle is also interested in Barcelona's Coutinho and Real Madrid's Eden Hazard, two great players, but it is estimated that the players still look down on the little Magpie.
In terms of forwards, Newcastle is interested in the 20-year-old Guinean forward Kamara from the Greek Olympiacos team. However, facing competition from Liverpool and Leicester City, Newcastle has little chance of winning. In addition, Newcastle also wants to introduce Liverpool's Origi, Manchester United's Lingard and Arsenal's Lacazette. Klopp has clearly expressed his rejection. He believes that Origi can still play a role in the team, and the contract will be in Manchester United winger Lingard is due to expire next summer. The player himself prefers to go to West Ham United. Lacazette is the only more realistic target. It depends on whether Newcastle's offer can satisfy Arsenal. The Gunners are raising money to buy Fiorentina striker Vlahovic.
There is really not much time left for Newcastle. If suitable players cannot be bought before the winter transfer window closes, then we may not see it in the Premier League next season. The richest club team in the world. For the rest of the Premier League teams, do you really want to send Newcastle to the Championship? Or is it to kill him severely in the winter window? A month later, everything became clear.
Note: The picture comes from the Internet.