Transfer Window Grades

“Isak’s a c… urm….. Is now a Liverpool Player”

To the Say that the transfer window has been a roller coaster would be an understatement and there have been moments where I worried for the season and how we would cope with the extra pressure of the champions League alongside other competitions.

However, if you look at solely in terms of ins and outs could an argument be made that we have had built upon the squad and kept a big enough percentage of our stars to be pushing to qualify for the Champions League again.

The way I have decided to look at our ins and outs is in a Football Manager style grade system and my thoughts.  

Outs

Lloyd Kelly A

We signed him on a free and then sold for 20 million, He didn’t really play enough for us to make any kind of impact but even saying that this was a great bit of business and if you look at it in terms of what that money paid for, the deals for Kelly and Longstaff basically funded the Malik Thaiw deal.

Sean Longstaff B

Longstaff brought us in 12 million “Pure Profit” for PSR and he was in the last year of his deal if memory serves me correctly. Sean has been a brilliant servant to the club, had some memorable moments as one of our own and leaves knowing he has lived the dream of Geordies everywhere being a part of the League Cup success. A good move for everyone involved. 

Martin Dubravka B

I still think Dubravka was shafted slightly last season. He stepped up when we needed him, were rumours of a move away only for him to sign a new deal and disappear from the 1^st team again. Like Longstaff I am pleased for him that he has got a move to a premier league cub because he deserves that for everything, he did for us. We managed to get a fee for him as well which was a bonus.

Matt Targett B

After a good initial loan spell, it never really worked out for Targett. I would have preferred to sell him permanently to get a fee but to get him out the club was a good move and freed up a squad position and some wages.

Odysseas Vlachodimos A

At one point we had six goalkeepers at the club and of all of them Vlachodimos was the most baffling. 20 Mil barely played for us, obviously was something to do with Forest and Newcastle PSR concerns and now has moved on. Good for all parties and I would like to think that Sevilla is paying a semi-decent loan fee for the player.

Callum Wilson B

Wilson will be fondly remembered by a lot of Newcastle fans. Was a quality number nine for us when he was on the pitch and we can only imagine what his goal record would have been if he hadn’t been hit with so many injuries. I think it was the right time for him to go and I hope it works out for him at West Ham.

Alexender Isak A

If I was basing this solely on the quality of player there is absolutely no way I would categorise this as an A graded departure but everything that has happened over the summer, how Isak went about leaving the club, the statement that had no mention of the fans or who actually made him the “Promise”, the complete disrespect to the club and manager who improved him and helped put him on this world stage and the level of carnage that it has caused us as a club especially when you look at how our 1^st three games panned out I have to be pleased that he has gone. 130 Millon for a player who we played that for is good business on paper and we have replaced him with a younger talent that hopefully adapts to the premier league quickly and an already proven goal scorer in the premier League.

Trevor Senusi B

Really happy he got a loan move because based on the game I watched on tele, and the NFTV videos of the early season he has been the standout player for the U21s and gaining some experience in a top European league will be good for his development and something that can benefit us as a club in one of two ways in the future.

Ins

Arron Ramsdale B

After being linked to Trafford for so long I didn’t think we would be signing Arron Ramsdale this summer. I have liked Ramsdale as player for a while and think he will be our number one by the end of the season. He got a bit of a raw deal at Arsenal in my opinion and to judge him on the multiple relegations is unfair. To look at the squad depth he is a great addition a small loan fee with no obligation to buy is very low risk and we have two keepers with plenty of premier league experience.

Anthony Elanga B

There have been small glimpses of what Elanga can do for Newcastle and his blistering pace is going to hurt a lot of teams this season. His first season for Forest was productive, he gradually improved his goal contribution numbers last season and now he will be involved in a lot more games so it will be about performing at consistent level. He hasn’t set the world alight in the early games but the real judgment will begin after the international break.

Malick Thaiw A

With the ages of Burn and Schar and injury concerns always there with Botman we needed to see Defender arrive that has enough experiences in a top European League while at the same time has the scope for Eddie Howe to complete one of his masterful improvement projects. Thaiw ticks all the boxes for me, he is the right age experience in both Seria A and the Bundesliga and has Champions League experience to go alongside it. Like Ramsdale, I don’t think he will immediately be a 1^st name on the team sheet but has the potential to 1^st choice by the end of the season.

Jacob Ramsey B

For 24 years old, Jacob Ramsey has a ton of experience and is a brilliant signing to come into our midfield 6. He was involved 45 of Villa’s last game and offers goals and assists as part of his game as well. The sheer volume of games we will have to contend with this season guarantee injuries and suspensions, but I am confident that Ramsey coming in for any of our big 3 in midfield will not weaken us in a significant way. The fee raised some questions but Villa are in the same situation as us with fighting PSR so I look at Ramsey amount in the same way I did Elliot Anderson, works for everyone involved and the team paying the money can be happy with who and what they are getting.

Nick Woltemade A

Our search for a Striker rumbled on all summer and 5 days before the end of the window it was confirmed that we were finally getting one. He was a player I had to research because annoyingly I didn’t know a lot about him but based solely on the stats and what other fans and pundits have said I think he will be a great signing. He scored 17 goals in 33 appearances last season and lifted the German cup with Stuttgart last season and scored the opening goal in the final.

Yoane Wissa B (Just Was back and forth between C&B)

Similar to how I started with Isak if I was judging solely on the player then I would be happy with the signing. He is a proven premier league goal scorer, as a replacement for Wilson ticks a lot of boxed and he wanted to join us. On the negative side of things, how he went about things was disgraceful and, in my opinion, we did overpay for him. However, he is good striker and will add different option up front and improve the squad depth to a level that I am happy with.

Overall Grade A

Taking out the Isak situation I am very happy with how our window went. If you look at our squad depth now, we have two players in pretty much every position, we have different types of players for each position can use that to adapt to certain situations on a game-by-game basis and as certain matches unfold.

Also, other than Wissa, the age of the players we have signed are 23-27 so is a forward-thinking window for the squad. Eddie Howe will improve those players we have signed.

Happy with our window, we do have a stronger squad going into the Champions League this season, there will be money left for January so we can make a signing if needed and we have kept most of our 1^st team. My next priority would be organising new contracts for likes of Livramento, Hall, Bruno etc so they are all clear where they stand with the club so we are not in the same situation again, although I do not see any of them acting in the way Isak did.