The richest outsider in history has seriously strengthened: revealing all recent transfers of Newcastle United

The winter transfer window is officially closed on January 1. The English Premier League spent the most, of course, and many wondered how exactly Newcastle would behave with a new owner in the face of the threat of relegation to the Championship. The Magpies are starting to seriously ramp up and rebuild their lineup along with the playstyle: they seem to have seriously stepped up and are determined to stay in the most elite league in the world.

Here we will tell you everything you need to know about the Black and White’s transfer campaign.

Who came:

Let’s try to understand the sense and purpose of each transfer.

Bruno Guimaraes:

We are starting with the loudest and most surprising transfer, we will talk about a really great and promising player, who was hunted by many clubs.

Before, Newcastle’s midfield consisted of Joelinton who suddenly changed position (he’s doing good on it, by the way), atacking Joe Willock with his main quality to break into the box (but he stopped scoring this season) and Jonjo Shelvey in the role of Andrea Pirlo (yeah, seriously – he got the great vision and passing ability). 

In a talk with the bit English tabloid, the club scout aptly described Bruno Guimaraes’ role as a “six-plus”. Meaning he is most comfortable playing as defensive midfielder and leading from deep but is versatile and can cover any position in Eddie Howe’s midfield trio. Perhaps can cover every role better than anyone who plays there now. 

The transfer of Guimaraes is a great stroke of luck for Newcastle. The only problem is that you can’t release him in several positions at once. Bruno reads the game well, but first of all he is valuable with his ability to move the ball and sometimes even create directly. Therefore, it was logical to expect him at a top or near-top club, although, maybe, next season Newcastle will get that status relative to the league rivals. 

Kieran Trippier:

The transfer of Trippier seems like the perfect move to illustrate the ambition of the new Newcastle. Diego Simeone was eager to keep Trippier, but the richest outsider in history took him anyway. Newcastle’s opportunities piled on Trippier’s personal circumstances – he didn’t really get into details, but he has already said he is going back to the North of England before the option even arose. He just had the real desire to play on English pitches again.

Because of his clear willingness to play in the EPL again and his contract situation (there were 18 months left), Newcastle even managed to take Kieran without overpaying. In terms of his play, Trippier is a clear upgrade over Javi Manquillo, who covered the right-back position in the first part of the season. He knows Eddie Howe well (they worked together at Burnley) and has Beckham-esque attacking crosses, and this brings us to the transfer of target man Chris Wood.

Chris Wood:

The potential link-up with Trippier is intriguing, but the most glaring aspect of the move is the willingness to pay to weaken a rival in the fight for survival. Newcastle shelled out a sum that activated a clause in the striker’s contract that deprived Burnley of any influence over the situation. 

That said, Wood is far from the ideal striker for Eddie Howe football, but was certainly ideal and for Burnley`s system, some sort of essential puzzle piece. Of course, no one will keep Chris out of the squad because of some cons, and Howe will have to simplify ideas to stay in the EPL with such a loadout and type of players. But what is worth noticing that Wood will no longer have such chemistry as he did with Sean Dyche. It’s very likely that breaking that bond was the priority of the Magpies in this situation. 

Dan Burn:

Just on paper, Burn is a stereotypical classic English centerback (198 cm). But that’s actually a deceptive impression. He gives not only aerial dominance, but also mobility with versatility. This player lasted two and a half years at Brighton under Graham Potter, who strongly emphasizes on short passes. Moreover, Dan played both left and central defender at the three, and just a left defender in four – meaning it is possible to claim variability, so necessary in today’s football.

In this situation, as with other reinforcements – he is really stronger than those who are already at the club in that position. Even captain Jamaal Lascelles is full of questions as there is no stable central defender in the Magpies’ camp this season. Burn is not only a strengthening of that area, but a tool to switch between the three and four defenders – if necessary right as games go by, a good option for Howe. 

Matt Targett:

Newcastle’s defense seems really weak (on average they concede 2 goals per game), maybe it is the most feeble part of the team. So the new head coach decided to strengthen the defensive line as much as possible. In addition, judging by the acquisitions in front, a very large emphasis in the team’s game will be on the interaction of fullbacks and the striker. Thus, a quality Matt Targett from Aston Villa came to the club, on loan until the end of the season.

The experienced 26-year-old has made 17 appearances this season and can operate both as a wide back and in back three, again giving Eddie options to build a new defensive line.

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• This season it will be really interesting for the fans to watch the English manager save the club from relegation. The current position of the club adds a special intrigue. As of now: Howe’s men are 18th in the table having won just twice all season.