The early-season international break, coming a game earlier than usual into 2025/26, has collectively given Newcastle an opportunity to reset. The long summer was bordering on traumatic, and if that’s exaggerating for effect, then it was certainly tiring as United were never far away from the headlines.
Many seemed to be negative, but making it out the other side has seen the prevailing winds shift towards positivity, despite the (and with all the usual caveats) uninspiring start to the new season on the pitch.
So, while we all pause (but, honestly, Wolves can’t come quick enough), I wanted to review/take a deep dive into 3 things I liked (and 3 I didn’t) about the summer window and how it bled into United’s early season:
Liked/Disliked: From “Rejection FC” to Redemption
‘Not since The Comedy of Errors has there been a more farcical play’, could be one way of reviewing Newcastle’s summer, as at times it appeared the players had absolutely no idea what they were doing and you could be forgiven for thinking it was a case of mistaken identity with the men in the hot seats replaced by imposters.
United’s pursuit of marquee names was admirable, the club’s ambitious scouting list read well with Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Hugo Ekititke featuring prominently but the success rate at actually getting them through the door resembled a Sunday league side’s win rate after a heavy night out.
Accompanied by snarky pundit commentary that made even the most stoic wince, the national media had a field day, despite the club assembling a good standard of new signings— including Aaron Ramsdale (an improvement on the back-up ‘keeper’ position with the potential to be number one), Jacob Ramsey (an improvement on Longstaff), Malick Thiaw (a much-needed RCB with pace), and Anthony Elanga (an explosive RW who is only 23 with huge potential).
The narrative started to shift during the final weekend of the window with the agreement a club-record £69m deal for Germany’s great hope of a striker, Nick Woltemade. The ‘two-metre Messi’ exploded into the German football consciousness last season and he has had much better output than Is*k did before arriving in the Premier League; scoring 17 goals in all competitions. Add in the deadline day signing of Yoane Wissa (who is proven in the Premier League and will take some of the pressure off ‘Big Nick’) and United’s squad has nearly two Premier League standard players in each position (LB aside) for probably the first time in 20+ years.
Happily, the 2025/26 transfer window will be remembered not just for the high-profile misses but for how United managed to pivot from general ridicule to something approaching genuine optimism.
Disliked: The Isak Saga
Et tu, Alex? Dramatic, sure, but such was/is the strength of feeling regarding the man’s actions and how he has treated his ex-manager, club, teammates and fans; it feels like a betrayal worthy of emperors.
No transfer window is complete without a prolonged saga (and it’s been a very lucrative saga for some social media aggregators), and for United, it was Alexander Isak’s turn to take centre stage. Following Liverpool’s frankly pathetic £110m bid for Isak in early August, it took until deadline day to sort out the entire contemptuous mess, and with the whole thing threatening to drag on like the final season of a once-great TV series, it was finally settled with a £130m British record transfer.
But perhaps the most irking aspect of the whole saga is how it has bled into United’s start to the season on the pitch. Most agree that if the Swede had remained professional and laced up his boots, Newcastle would be sitting on 6-7 points.
The Swede was our hero, the man who scored the goal that finally ended 70 years of hurt, a player who should’ve been talked about in the same breath as the Shearers and Milburns. Instead, he will be remembered alongside Michael Owen (above for me but that’s by the bye) as one of the most selfish, duplicitous, mercenary footballers to ever pull on a Black and White shirt.
Liked: Wissa and Woltemade Arrive
Going into the weekend of the Leeds game, despair threatened to settle in like fog over the Tyne because of the squad’s lack of a striker. United had toiled away against Villa, playing well, but without the killer instinct up front, highlighted by the inability to score against ten men, and Gordon’s sending off against Liverpool had left the squad almost devoid of a striking presence that the manager trusted (with apologies to Will Osula).
Thankfully, Newcastle finally flipped the script. Enter £125m pair Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade—two strikers with the potential to redefine the club’s attacking play, if not replace Isak outright.
The club pulled a ‘Tonali’ by signing Nick Woltemade out of nowhere. Fresh from a starring role in the U21s Euros, the towering German prodigy offers a different threat: excellent hold-up play, deft touches in and around the box, and a decent eye for goal. Eminently mouldable by a Head Coach with a track record for doing so, Woltemade will need time to settle, but he certainly has a high ceiling and is an exciting signing.
Meanwhile, Wissa, the dynamic, Premier League-proven Congolese forward, brings pace, unpredictability, and a knack for scoring spectacular goals from open play. His ability to drift between defenders should see him link up well with the likes of Elanga, Barnes, Gordon, and Murphy.
Playing together, they could even form a fascinating duo: the pace and finishing prowess of Wissa complementing the finesse, deftness, and chance-creating ability of Woltemade.
Disliked: Paul Mitchell and the Soap Opera in United’s boardroom
Paul Mitchell won’t be remembered for much but he will be remembered for the foresight to get out early this summer before the proverbial hit the fan. Wading into the club with all the subtlety of a gunshot wound during the summer of 2024, many crowed at the appointment of a man who had a track record of success at Monaco, Spurs, and Southampton in similar Sporting Director roles.
Instead, combined with the horrible news that CEO Darren Eales had to step down due to ill health, the pair’s departures left a yawning chasm of leadership in the United boardroom, with Mitchell never actually signing a player. Questions were asked: who is even doing the negotiating? And many fans felt the people filling the executive roles were too inexperienced or promoted beyond their ken.
By all accounts, Jamie Reuben eventually stepped up (but again, you would have to ask why it took so long?), which saw late window signings made, but this sort of listlessness above Eddie Howe cannot be allowed to happen again. The arrival of David Hopkinson as the new CEO (and hopefully a new SD soon) has finally seen the club appoint Eales’ successor, and we can only hope that the Canadian can build relationships and last in the role as United really need stability at board level.
Liked: United’s Brighton-esque signings — Cordero and Seung-soo
While the headlines focused on the striker saga, Newcastle quietly secured the signatures of two highly thought-of talents: Antonio Cordero and Seung-soo Park. The last couple of summers have seen the club step up its youth recruitment and has even seen a little of the Chelsea-style youth-team-churn with the transfers of Anderson, Minteh and Kuol for decent fees.
Cordero, a Spanish RW/midfielder, is highly rated in his homeland and boasts vision beyond his years. Having already racked up 55 appearances (5 goals) in the Spanish second and third divisions, he was courted by Spanish giants this summer before his switch to United. Still only 18, his passing range stood out when he played for the Spanish U19s this summer, and with a loan to KVC Westerlo in Belgium’s Pro League this season, we can only hope he gets the game time he needs to keep progressing. He has started promisingly enough, making two appearances from the bench in three games.
Seung-soo showed flair, tenacity, and an excellent work rate throughout preseason but has yet to make an appearance competitively. The South Korean was probably a victim of the fixture computer as United’s early games have all been against high-quality opposition, but with a tie against League One Bradford at home in the 3rd round of the Carabao Cup, in the middle of a punishing run of games, he should see some game time. If he doesn’t, I would expect to see him go on loan in January.
The Bigger Picture: A Window of (Painful) Growth
Consider this: amid the chaos, Newcastle managed to reinforce the squad intelligently. Critics will argue about missed opportunities, but football isn’t just about who you don’t sign—it’s about what you build with who you have.
Wissa and Woltemade aren’t just stopgaps; they’re statement signings. Cordero and Seung-soo aren’t just future projects; they’re potential game-changers, whether that be on the pitch or helping to comply with PSR down the line.
Now, as United hit reset on the season, we are poised not just to compete but to surprise. And if Wissa curls one into the top corner or Woltemade deftly flicks home a late winner against Wolves, those summer headlines will feel like distant echoes, faint reminders of a window that started with rejection but ultimately ended with redemption.
Keep the faith.
