Seven months ago, Newcastle United‘s chief executive David Hopkinson said he could put them “in the debate about being the top club in the world” by 2030.
Right now, that ambition looks a long way off.
The departure of manager Eddie Howe on Thursday, and reported appointment of Matthias Jaissle, is the result of a poor Premier League season, where Newcastle finished 12th, and an uninspiring transfer window.
The latter is in no small part down to the club’s need to sell players to generate income and so be able to spend more.
But does this latest development point to a bigger issue?
Newcastle have let go some of their biggest players in Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali while captain Bruno Guimaraes is also rumoured to be on his way out. That follows the £125m sale of striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool last September.
Transfers the other way have not exactly been flooding in either, with Newcastle missing out on Swiss midfielder Johan Manzambi to Aston Villa and Spanish winger Victor Munoz to Liverpool.
Newcastle‘s Saudi Arabia-backed takeover in 2021 – by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) – was supposed to lead to them becoming one of the world’s top clubs.
But recent actions have raised questions about whether they are running out of steam.
Howe ended Newcastle‘s 70-year wait for a domestic trophy when his side won the Carabao Cup last year.
But rumours about the 48-year-old’s departure have been circulating since the beginning of this year, when Newcastle sat 13th in the Premier League and securing Champions League football for next season was already starting to look highly unlikely.
That was exacerbated further in March when the Magpies were struck by a late Sunderland comeback in the Tyne-Wear derby, losing 2-1 at St James’ Park.
Credit: bbc.com
