Newcastle's secret weapon in the world of FFP? - Paul Mitchell's top 10 signings

With Newcastle United appointing highly respected director of football Paul Mitchell, I decided to take a quick look at some of his best signings across his career path, comparing the fees when purchased to either what they sold for, or their current value.

Here's what I consider to be his top 10 buys across his spells in England and Europe, featuring his club and role at the time:

Southampton - Head of Scouting: Sadio Mané

Mitchell was in charge of scouting at Southampton when they signed Mané for a fee of £10m. He was then sold two years later to Liverpool for £34m. He later became one of the best wingers in the Premier League, scoring 120 goals in 269 appearances for the Reds.

Tottenham - Head of Youth Scouting: Dele Alli

In his first season at Spurs, he signed Alli for £5m. Alli soon became one of the hottest Premier League prospects, quickly got into the England setup and became a top player for many season. Although his value has plummeted (due to multiple reasons), there's no doubt signing him was a great bit of talent identification.

Tottenham - Head of Youth Scouting: Heung-min Son

Spurs signed Son for £22m, and since then he's established himself as an elite-level attacker with 246 goal involvements in 408 appearances at Tottenham. With a current market value (Transfermarkt) of £38m, and a career high of £90m (achieved at Spurs), signing the South Korean was a masterclass in talent ID.

Tottenham - Head of Youth Scouting: Kieran Trippier

Signed from Burnley for £3.5m, Kieran Trippier has gone on to have a great career. Moving to Atlético Madrid for £20m in 2019, Trippier went on to win the league. He's become an England regular and a top Premier League right-back, as we've seen during his time on Tyneside.

RB Leipzig - Head of Scouting: Christopher Nkunku

Signed for £11m + bonuses, Nkunku was an absolute bargain. He was then sold four years later to Chelsea for £52m, with a career-high market value of £67m after several prolific season at Leipzig. Another great piece of talent, with him signed by Mitchell as a promising young player in need of game time while at PSG.

RB Leipzig - Head of Scouting: Tyler Adams

Signed from partner club RB New York for under £2m, Tyler Adams joined Leeds for £14m in 2022/23 before joining Bournemouth the following summer for £20m.

RB Leipzig - Head of Scouting: Matheus Cunha

Signed from Swiss club FC Sion for £12.5m. A season later he was sold to Hertha Berlin for £18m before a spell at Atletico Madrid and club-record transfer to Wolves, who paid £42m for the Brazilian.

AS Monaco - Sporting Director: Aurélien Tchouaméni

This one is a masterclass. Tchouaméni - who is now one of the top holding midfielders in the world - was signed from Bordeaux for €18m and developed my Mitchell as he pushed Monaco to make use of the young talent in their ranks. Two and a half seasons later, Real Madrid bought him for £85m. He is currently a regular in the French national side and just won the Champions League.

AS Monaco - Sporting Director: Youssouf Fofana

Signed from Strasbourg for £12m, Fofana is a fantastic player. Currently valued at over double that and being linked with moves to the likes of Manchester United, the French international is another gem.

AS Monaco - Sporting Director: Axel Disasi

Disasi was bought from Stade de Reims for £10m in 2020. Last summer, the centre back was bought by Chelsea for £38m. That's more than TRIPLE the fee that Monaco paid for the defender, who developed into another French international.

Now that he's joined Newcastle United, let's hope his history of making good signings continues, with the identification of value-for-money gems more important than ever in the world of FFP.