Newcastle PIF signings ranked: PSR shambles bottom, Arsenal target top, Harvey Barnes 11th

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has reignited excitement among Newcastle United supporters, making trips to St James’ Park something to look forward to again. The Magpies’ owners have achieved this by making some outstanding signings.

We most recently ranked Newcastle’s PIF signings in January 2024 – check that out if you are intrigued by how much we have changed. But stick with us for this piece first, will you?

18) Odysseas Vlachodimos (£20m)
A necessary evil in the eyes of Newcastle and Nottingham Forest was the transfer business they conducted together last summer. It might have reeked of Premier League Profit and Sustainability dodging but it happened and it’s about time we accept that.

The bottom line is that this goes down as a £20million signing in the history books and paying £20m for a third-choice goalkeeper is beyond stupid.

READ MORE: PSR deals dominate list of five transfers with £80m of unaccounted value

17) Matt Targett (£15m)
We are surprised Targett is still a Newcastle player in all honesty. The 29-year-old left-back was signed from Aston Villa during PIF’s first transfer window in January 2022 and quickly became a regular in Eddie Howe’s starting XI. When 2022/23 rolled around, Howe had Sven Botman so moved Dan Burn wide and used Targett sparingly.

He did rack up 17 league appearances that year but only six came as a starter. Injuries and falling further down the pecking order limited Targett to just three appearances last season and he has played a grand total of 19 minutes this campaign, incidentally accumulated across two matches against his former side Villa.

16) John Ruddy (free)
Former Premier League goalkeepers that the streets might well have forgotten about about are quite trendy among big clubs these days. Newcastle hopped on the bandwagon with the addition of John Ruddy last summer. He has racked up a grand total of zero minutes for the Magpies.

15) William Osula (£10m)
Most of Osula’s cameos off the bench have been promising this season and if anything, Howe has not played him enough, even with Alexander Isak firing on all cylinders.

14) Chris Wood (£25m)
Wood only scored two Premier League goals for Newcastle in the second half of 2021/22 after signing from Burnley mid-season but they both came in one-goal victories. More importantly, the signing of Wood essentially relegated the Clarets and changed them from Sean Dyche’s Burnley to Vincent Kompany’s Burnley, which worked in the Championship, but not in the Premier League.

Wood left Newcastle for Nottingham Forest a year after joining, initially signing on loan before joining permanently for around £15m. He struggled for a while but a hat-trick away to Newcastle, of all teams, seemed to spark something in him nobody knew was laying dormant.

This season, as we all know, the 33-year-old has been electric, scoring 19 goals in 31 appearances so far as Forest chase Champions League football.

13) Lloyd Kelly (free)
There is one major positive that outweighs all of the negatives: pure profit, baby.

Kelly joined from Bournemouth on a Bosman last summer but failed to impress before earning a bizarre move to Juventus in January. That transfer should become permanent but nothing is guaranteed. Newcastle will hope to pocket £20m and record that as some crucial pure profit to help fund a huge 2025 summer transfer window.

Howe’s side are relying on Juve qualifying for any European competition for the buy obligation to be triggered and if they fail to do so, Kelly will likely return to Tyneside.

12) Yankuba Minteh (£6m)
There is one major positive that outweighs all of the negatives: £24m profit, baby.

Newcastle reluctantly sold Minteh – signed from Odense Boldklub for £6m in June 2023 – to Brighton last summer for £30m as the club’s hierarchy feared a potential PSR breach. This was a transfer that frustrated fans given Howe’s need for a new right-sided forward, but Minteh has not been missed thanks to Jacob Murphy performing well above expectations this season.

11) Harvey Barnes (£38m)
We don’t think Harvey Barnes (it’s the law that you have to say his full name every time) has been a rubbish signing; his spot here simply emphasises how well Newcastle have spent under their Saudi Arabian owners.

He has been hot and cold for much of his Magpies career but Harvey Barnes has been in and out of the team – which believe it or not, prevents players from getting rhythm, gaining confidence, reaching peak match fitness, endearing themselves to the fans, and understanding the tactics being deployed. Or in other words: staying hot.

The ex-Leicester City winger has had his fair share of minutes this season and has capitalised, specifically since the turn of the year. He started the Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool and has four goals and four assists in his last seven Premier League appearances.

10) Tino Livramento (£30m)
The jury’s still out on Livramento for me, Clive. He actually looks more comfortable at left-back than in his natural right-back role, but Lewis Hall remains the more convincing option there, while Kieran Trippier has rediscovered his form on the right.

£30m was a risk for a young player with a cruciate ligament tear on their injury report but the 22-year-old has recovered well from that and certainly has the potential to be the Geordies’ long-term starting right-back with Hall on the other side.

9) Lewis Hall (£28m)
Speaking of which, Hall has been very important and impressive for Newcastle this season. He barely played last season, which was awfully confusing after joining on loan from Chelsea with an obligation to buy for £28m. Hall’s lack of playing time sparked rumours that he wouldn’t join permanently but it was never in doubt and what a signing he has been.

8) Nick Pope (£10m)
Another shrewd signing was the addition of Pope from Burnley in the 2022 summer transfer window, landing him on a cut-price fee with only a year left on his contract with the relegated side.

Pope might not be the most convincing with the ball at his feet but he is undoubtedly a very solid goalkeeper and has been crucial since the start of 2022/23.

The fact Newcastle have looked fine without him in goal and were debatably better with Martin Dubravka has knocked Pope down a spot or two.

7) Dan Burn (£12m)
Big Dan Burn is a cult hero at St James’ Park. The boy from Blyth scored in the Carabao Cup final and has been extremely consistent under Howe, performing well wherever he is asked to play. To be honest, the fact that he is competent playing left-back is a mystery; he’s bloody huge and hardly the most technically gifted defender in the world, or even in the top 50.

For a very respectable £12m, Burn has been an outstanding signing.

6) Sven Botman (£34m)
Injuries have really derailed Sven Botman’s Newcastle career, missing 18 games in the first half of 2023/24 before tearing his ACL in March of that season. The 25-year-old was out for over a year and has struggled to stay fit, suffering another two knee injuries to rule him out for 13 more games this term.

He really needs to overcome his fitness issues because Botman is a crucial player for Newcastle – if he can return to the level he was playing in 2022/23.

5) Sandro Tonali (£52m)
I love this guy. Seriously, what a player.

The betting ban defined Sandro Tonali’s first season at Newcastle and led many to write him off, but he’s been absolutely world-class this year.

4) Anthony Gordon (£45m)
Howe was apparently the only person on the planet aware of Anthony Gordon’s talent when Newcastle shelled out £45m to sign him from Everton in January 2023. Turns out he is a brilliant footballer and the vast majority of us were wrong to be baffled by the decision.

Gordon has 22 goals and 23 assists in 102 appearances for Newcastle and has established himself as one of the best wingers in the country. He needs Harvey Barnes to have a stinker soon to get back in the team, though.

READ MORE: Newcastle have a gem in Gordon and we have never been so wrong about a player

3) Kieran Trippier (£12m)
Trippier has looked to be heading for the exit door a few times during his Newcastle career and last season felt like his last following a decline in performances. After lots of transfer rumours, the former England international has come Back Stronger and is again one of Howe’s most consistent and important players. His renaissance should be spoken about more really.

Trippier was the first big name through the door under the new Saudi regime and he led by example from day one.

2) Bruno Guimaraes (£39m)
Guimaraes has been one of the best midfielders in England since his January 2022 marquee move from Lyon and is a player the St James’ Park faithful instantly fell in love with.

Now worth north of £100m, the Brazil international would walk into any starting XI in world football, and he plays for bloody Newcastle! He wears his heart on his sleeve and his passion, on top of his energetic style of play, makes him the sort of player capable of endearing himself to any supporter.

1) Alexander Isak (£60m)
One of the best strikers in world football, Alexander Isak is a wanted man but Newcastle will not consider selling their talisman – and best signing of the PIF era – for anything less than £120m.

Isak has 53 goals in 83 Premier League matches after scoring 33 in 105 La Liga matches for Real Sociedad. He also netted some crucial goals en route to Carabao glory and is the one player in this Newcastle team we think is truly irreplaceable. No matter how much the income from his potential exit can potentially help them in the long run, it won’t be more beneficial than keeping him.

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