Newcastle’s wage boost could aid late push for signings - regardless of Isak sale

Newcastle United waved goodbye to another of the old guard over the past few months, with Isaac Hayden, another of the long-serving players, mutually agreeing to terminate his contract at the club with a year still to run.

I’m sure there was a settlement involved, but it speaks volumes for the player that he wanted to seek first-team football, rather than sit on an inflated Premier League contract.

With all the talk of PSR and headroom, it seemed prudent to address United’s efforts to shift the ‘dead wood’ and create the financial headroom opening doors to late signings - regardless of Alexander Isak's potential sale.

Wage bill cuts begin to add up 

Hayden’s exit is the latest ‘high wage, low return’ player to leave the club in the last twelve months. Alongside Hayden, other departures such as Jamal Lewis, Lloyd Kelly, Callum Wilson, Sean Longstaff, and Miguel Almirón have collectively alleviated a substantial portion of the club’s wage burden, with Capology having those players on anywhere from £22,000-a-week to £100,000+-per-week.

The glaring Matt Targett holdout aside (some suggest he may be on upwards of £60-70,000-a-week!f), each of those players occupied a considerable chunk of the weekly wage structure, and their absence translates into a significant reduction that will exceed several hundred thousand pounds per month.

There has been more exits since, with Martin Dubravka joining Burnley permanently and Odysseas Vlachodimos heading to Sevilla, where Newcastle will still pay a good chunk of his wage, but not all.

More could follow, with Jamaal Lascelles' future currently unclear now he's dropped to fifth choice, and Harrison Ashby also made available alongside Targett.

Dead wood often feels like a harsh phrase to attach to human beings, but in the wild world of football, where players are traded with the emotional delicacy of potted ferns at a garden centre clearance sale, there are small signs that United’s pruning could set the club up for a much-needed late summer push in the transfer market.

Four incomings: big wages, big quality?

The summer’s four first-team recruits may bring with them hefty wages, as we’ve had it confirmed the club are covering Ramsdale’s wages in full, and Anthony Elanga is rumoured to be on anywhere from £90,000-120,000-a-week, showing just how difficult it is for the club to operate in the transfer market when they are trying to elevate the ‘quality floor’ of the squad.

Malick Thiaw (AC Milan) and Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa) arrive for a combined fee just shy of £80m, so we can also assume the pair are taking home a big wedge each week as talents pushing to become international regulars.

Elanga is coming off the back of a hugely impressive season for Forest and it is easy to say he elevates the ‘quality floor’ of the right-sided attacking forwards/wingers in the squad, although he is still relatively unproven at the elite level.

Ramsdale; the jury is firmly out on that one, but most will say he is better with his feet than Pope and does elevate that particular facet of United’s tactics/build-up play.

As for Thiaw and Ramsey, I am a firm believer that we have two very exciting players able to flourish under Eddie Howe, providing they can stay fit after injury issues at Milan and Aston Villa respectively.

With or without the enigmatic Alexander Isak

In football, and to continue the gardening metaphors, sometimes you have to clear out the old to make space for something new to bloom.

The benefits to United, financially anyway, are obvious if Isak goes. It’s a hefty fee entering the coffers, which could potentially fuel a (much-needed) late shopping spree that would make even the most seasoned football directors blush, and United don’t have many of those in situ at the moment.

United’s squad has undoubted, elite quality, and with several plucked from leagues abroad, they came with reasonable wage demands.

There was significant ‘wastage’ with members of the squad who never even played, pulling in big wages from hangover contracts handed out by the previous ownership, contributing very little to the depth of the squad.

Hayden was the last of those players, and the club must look to reinvest the new headroom into quality additions between now and the end of the transfer window.