Alexander Isak will not play football for Newcastle United again, but after scoring on his debut for the Magpies, club-record signing Nick Woltemade looks like he has the potential to make that frontal spot his own.
And Newcastle are up and running. The summer transfer window has been and gone, and nobody will be more delighted than Eddie Howe, whose side were rocked and rocked some more by the turbulence throughout, the Isak saga very much the crux of the issues that seeped into the opening games of the Premier League season.
But the Sweden striker has now gone, and for a British-record £125m fee at that.
However, in Woltemade and the proven goalscorer that is Yoane Wissa, unfortunately, injured for weeks with a knee injury before he could make his United debut on Saturday, Howe has restored the core of his formidable frontline.
Three points against Wolves gives Howe his first win of the campaign and a new platform from which to build on, putting behind him the frustrations of the summer transfer window.
Because the Tynesiders, for sure, have undergone some degree of change in the final third.
Newcastle's new-look frontline without Ekitike
Howe’s Newcastle system is greater than the sum of its parts. Isak was (is) a world-class striker, but he’s a Magpie no more, and Newcastle have responded by welcoming two new talents to the fold bearing skills enough to compensate for his sale.
Wissa’s debut will have to wait due to injury, but the former Brentford striker scored 19 Premier League goals last season, and he offers a proven touch that will likely retain, at least, the relative consistency of Isak’s presence in the final third.
But that’s not all. United needed a right winger in 2024 and had failed in a bid to sign Nottingham Forest star Anthony Elanga on transfer deadline day.
One year on, they got their man, signing the 24-year-old in a £55m package. Elanga hasn’t taken off at St. James’ Park yet, but he brings energy and speed and electricity to the team.
Newcastle have responded well to summer setbacks, adding these forwards to the ranks after missing out on other targets like Hugo Ekitike, now at Liverpool alongside Isak.
There was a time when a deal for Ekitike, 23, looked on, but when Liverpool hijacked the Toon’s move and added him to their ranks, it perhaps left many feeling more confident about Isak staying put.
But it wasn’t to be, and Liverpool got both. While Newcastle have repieced their attack together, there’s no denying the blow, and a less-known fact is that Liverpool also pipped the Toon to another talent this summer, one who could yet flower into a superstar.
How Newcastle missed out to Liverpool again
In August, Liverpool announced the signing of Giovanni Leoni from Serie A side Parma for an initial £26m fee, rising to £30m with add-ons.
An 18-year-old centre-back, Leoni is one for the future and the future is now. He’s extremely talented and considered to fall into the same bracket as Real Madrid’s Dean Huijsen, another summer target for Newcastle, albeit at an earlier stage in his development.
Leoni hasn’t made his debut for Liverpool yet, and so we cannot draw with any real accuracy the player’s current capacity to thrive in England for a top club. But we do know there was something akin to a goulmouth scramble for his signature, and that Newcastle would have loved to land the shot.
Already blooded as a member of the Italian national set-up, the powerful and tall teenager has been described as “one of the most complete teenage centre-backs in Europe” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, who also hailed him as “the future” of Italian football.
One that got away
The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast’s One That Got Away series.
Look, for example, how the youngster fared against Malick Thiaw in Serie A last year. Thiaw, 24, signed for Howe’s side in a £35m deal last month, fee including add-ons.
Matches (starts)
22 (19)
17 (14)
Goals
0
1
Assists
0
0
Touches*
66.1
46.9
Pass completion
94%
89%
Key passes*
0.2
0.1
Ball recoveries*
3.0
2.0
Tackles + interceptions*
1.8
1.7
Clearances*
3.5
3.6
Duels (won)*
3.7 (59%)
2.5 (61%)
Errors made
1
1
To have missed out on Ekitike was a blow, no doubt, but Newcastle responded by signing a similarly exciting up-and-comer in Woltemade for a similar price, and they’ve added Wissa besides.
Leoni, however, joins Liverpool for what could prove a shrewd fee indeed. But how firm was Newcastle’s interest?
Well, Parma CEO Federico Cherubini spoke after the transfer of rival intrigue in the defender, saying, “We rejected a higher offer from Newcastle for Leoni.” He then spoke of Leoni’s desire to push ahead with a move to Merseyside, insinuating a preference for Arne Slot’s project.
Newcastle have bounced back from their Ekitike rejection by signing two talented and contrasting strikers. Thiaw, too, has much to offer, but then he has also started no more than 19 league matches in any given season in Italy, routinely pegged back with injury issues.
Leoni, meanwhile, took to life on the senior stage with silky aplomb last season, and there’s a belief within inner FSG circles that Liverpool have signed one of the most exciting young defenders in the business, with TNT Sports commentator Adam Summerton remarking that he’s “going to be a star”.
Though the past few months have been tumultuous for those of a Magpie persuasion, it’s commendable that Howe and his team have knuckled down and welcomed a host of exciting signings to join a title-winning squad.
Isak might have gone, and Ekitike may play for Liverpool too, but Newcastle signed Woltemade and remain a force to be reckoned with.
That said, Leoni looks like a special talent indeed, and it’s a shame that he couldn’t be welcomed to St. James’ Park to help shape the future of this still-rising Newcastle side.