The incredible XI Newcastle could have had if £300m top targets didn’t reject them

Newcastle’s team could look a whole lot different if they had landed their top targets.

The Magpies’ transfer spending has come under great scrutiny after a tense summer window where they lost Alexander Isak.

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Newcastle tried to cling on to their star striker before selling him to Liverpool for a British transfer record £125m.

Not only did Isak go, but they also had a hard time landing their preferred replacements.

Manager Eddie Howe still managed to splash out nearly £250m, considerably more than the cash they raised from sales.

Howe has bemoaned the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability [PSR] rules that, he says, is holding the club back.

What did Howe say?

After a 2-1 defeat to rivals Sunderland in the Premier League, Howe once again pointed to the PSR rules.

Howe said: “The rules have made it very difficult to have momentum to go with the speed it (the club) initially went with.

“I don’t know a way we can beat that system. We have to follow the rules that are set, the club desperately want to be ambitious but there is a limit to what we can spend.

“That has a knock on effect on everything we do. To not recruit for that many windows, I don’t know a team that would not suffer from that. We certainly have, and then losing Alexander Isak last summer was a considerable blow. But again we can’t feel sorry for ourselves and use excuses.

“We have to find a way to be successful despite all of those things. But with that there has to be an understanding of the type of conditions we are under.”

Who did Newcastle try to sign?

talkSPORT’s Inside the Toon YouTube show discussed Newcastle’s spending and Howe’s comments.

It was pointed out that although they spent big, the players brought in were not their top targets.

Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Anthony Elanga, Jacob Ramsey, and Malick Thiaw came in for the grand total of £250m.

Yet they have not delivered in the way Newcastle would have hoped.

Head of sport at The Sun, Shaun Custis, said: “The problem with Eddie’s PSR argument is that the last £250 million we’ve spent has not really been well invested. 

“So whatever you say about the PSR argument, well, what about what we did sign?”

Host Ollie Clink added: “We all know we missed out on the top targets. We all know that happened. 

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“We all know that the players we got were fourth or fifth down the list. If Eddie Howe had had his way and the club had been managed properly during that summer, all right, not every single one of these would have come in, but you’d be looking at a squad with [Marc] Guehi, [Hugo] Ekitike, [Bryan] Mbeumo, João Pedro even, and Liam Delap.

“So why are you taking the bank cards off Eddie Howe? Because you know that those weren’t his targets. He’s sanctioned the ones coming in. I get that, but we had to bring someone in.

“We had to or you were ending up with Gordon up front with no replacement.”

Ekitike was Newcastle’s top target to replace Alexander Isak, but Liverpool went in for him when they thought the deal for the Magpies striker was dead.

Only for the Premier League champions to land both of them as part of their £450m assault on the transfer market.

Ekitike has 11 goals in 28 games for Liverpool this season after his move worth £79m was completed.

Mbeumo rejected both Newcastle and Tottenham to sign for Man United in a £71m deal and has arguably been among their top players this season.

Joao Pedro also rejected Newcastle in favour of Chelsea, signing for £60m.

Going back to the summer of 2024, the Magpies saw multiple bids rejected for Guehi by Crystal Palace. The top one was believed to be in excess of £60m.

Howe also missed out on goalkeeper James Trafford, who went on to join Man City for £31m.

Trafford is likely to be on Newcastle’s radar once again this summer.