Newcastle United’s incoming business may be paused until January, when the club may look to strengthen again, but more can be done to keep top players on Tyneside.
As we know, Alexander Isak refused to sign a new deal this summer and quickly pushed for a big-money move to Liverpool, with The Telegraph reporting that he is on over £300,000-a-week at Anfield; more than £100,000 above what Toon chiefs would’ve been able to offer him at Newcastle.
That shows the challenge facing Newcastle regarding new deals, with the club boasting the 8th highest wage bill in the Premier League, limiting our ability to offer mega sums to new signings and current stars as we continue to build our revenue streams.
However, there is hope and a plan in place, as The Telegraph reveal that Newcastle will offer new deals to Sandro Tonali, Tino Livramento and Sven Botman.
The challenge during negotiations will be settling on a wage, as all three extensions will have to fit into the club’s current structure, where Bruno Guimaraes is currently the top earner on ‘around £180,000-a-week’.
Botman may be the most pressing of the three, as the Dutchman has less than two years remaining on his deal, which is due to expire in 2027. The club will not want the 25-year-old to enter the final 12 months of his contract, putting pressure on to agree a deal before the 2025/26 season is up.
Tonali and Livramento are both under contract until 2028, giving them just over two and a half years left to run. However, Toon chiefs would be wise to reward their superb performances over the past year, which has seen suitors like Man City emerge, as we saw with Tino last summer.