Given that less than a week ago Newcastle United were fearful of being docked points by the Premier League next season, and considering selling Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak to balance the books, it has been quite a week in the North-East.
The threat of being charged for breaching Profitability and Sustainabilility Sules (PSR) has been averted by the sale of Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson. An acriminious and potentially costly legal battle with Manchester United over Dan Ashworth has been settled, with Newcastle receiving compensation of £10m for their former sporting director. And in a surprise announcement on Thursday the club confirmed the appointment of high-calibre replacement Paul Mitchell, who has not cost them a penny beyond wages.
Newcastle’s recruitment and transfer strategy has appeared a complete mess to the outside world, with their PSR challenges well documented and their search for a sporting director involving very public rejections, but those at the club insist there has been a clear plan all along.
While they left it close to the 30 June accounting deadline to complete deals, and were concerned they would not materialise given talks with Liverpool and Chelsea over Gordon and Isak, the value of Minteh, Anderson and other youngsters was known, while the threat of holding Ashworth to his 18 months notice was regarded as a trump card.
Newcastle’s Saudi Arabian owners set the tone in their response to Ashworth’s desire to move, and as a result have become more involved in other areas of the football business, particularly Mitchell’s appointment. Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was adamant that Ashworth would only be allowed to leave on Newcastle’s terms, as he felt personally affronted by the former FA technical director’s professions of ignorance, a feeling exacerbated by what he regarded as Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s insulting first compensation offer of £2m.
An attempt by Ratcliffe to smooth things over by courting Newcastle director Amanda Staveley in April was given short shrift by her employers, who made it clear Ashworth would only be allowed to leave when they received a suitable offer, which finally arrived last Sunday.
The public stand-off may have helped secure Mitchell, whose arrival was confirmed to club staff minutes before the official announcement at 9am on Thursday. Newcastle officials privately expressed delight at success in keeping the appointment secret, not least because as an unattached executive Mitchell has been able to work on potential deals in the background this summer.
The Saudis were key to Mitchell’s appointment, working closely with chief executive Darren Eales to make him an offer he could not refuse. While they did not work together at Tottenham Hotspur both Mitchell and Eales have mutual friends from their time at the north London club, which made building a relationship easier.
Mitchell has been strongly linked with Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, since leaving Monaco last year. Although he was not formally offered the job the 42-year-old declined to take up Newcastle’s interest when they approached him in March, which led them to pursue other candidates including Crystal Palace’s sporting director Dougie Freedman, former Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto – who last month joined Bournemouth in a recruitment role titled president of football operations – and Johannes Spors of 777 Partners.
Manager Eddie Howe in particular has been a huge advocate of Freedman, which may or may not have been related to the fact that they share an agent, and at one point in May Newcastle thought they had persuaded him to jump ship. Freedman is close to Palace chairman Steve Parish however, and unusually, given the animosity between the two directors, also gets on well with the club’s biggest shareholder John Textor, so the offer of a new contract persuaded him to stay.
Howe also rated Mitchell as the pair get on well, with the manager encouraging the owners to talk to him again. In addition to other attractive sporting director jobs such as that at Liverpool having been filled, the key to persuading Mitchell to change his mind is giving him greater control over recruitment.
Whereas Ashworth’s role was strategic and club-focused, Mitchell is expected to take charge of transfer business and they are expecting to be active, as recent outgoings have given them leeway regarding PSR. Wolves winger Pedro Neto remains a target, particularly if Gordon seeks to leave with Liverpool circling, but Newcastle are hoping of winning him round after the Euros. Unlike for most of the summer, they will be able to begin that conversation from a position of strength.