Newcastle set to ditch 'showbiz signings' as club insider hints at transfer plans

Newcastle United has a lot of work to do in the summer transfer window to repair the damage done last year.

After the Magpies spent around £250 million on six additions, breaching UEFA's financial restrictions in the process, the team somehow ended up being far worse than it was last season.

It was clear that Newcastle didn't get their first-choice players in the window, particularly when it came to strikers. Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga were both long-term targets, so we can't say that about them, but Nick Woltemade was a clear panic buy, albeit one that I was hoping we'd do long before his name was even mentioned.

Jacob Ramsey came out of nowhere, and that suggests there was an element of panic about that. While Yoane Wissa was a target that was identified long before he actually signed, the fact that we paid £55 million for him a week before he turned 29 spoke volumes about the levels of panic at the club at the time.

Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa could be sold

How many of those summer signings will survive the culling this year remains to be seen, but The Telegraph has hinted that Wissa and Woltemade could be sold as part of corrective measures this summer.

What the Telegraph’s Luke Edwards has been told by club sources is that the Magpies will not make any 'showbiz signings' this summer. We shouldn't expect to see any '£80 million Premier League proven players arriving on fat contracts'.

The market is a volatile place with insane figures being quoted all the time, so that wipes a lot of options off the table.

This suggests a return to European gems and the exploration of lesser known markets, hinting at a return to our previous approach after shopping in France (Bruno, Botman), Italy (Tonali, Thiaw), Germany (Woltemade, Joelinton) and Spain (Isak) in years gone by.

Good scouting is going to be key

Newcastle have been scouring the globe for exciting young talent who can develop into stars, a return to the Dan Ashworth approach, but hopefully, this time it will yield actual results.

The focus has to be on the scouting. As long as we are identifying players who actually fit the system, we should avoid the same mistakes as last year.

There's no doubting Nick Woltemade's quality, but he obviously doesn't fit Eddie Howe's style. We love him, but unless one of them can change to adapt, it's not going to work out for him.

Our scouting team needs to be fully convinced that a target is right for the club before even putting their name forward.