Since the takeover four years ago, you could make a case for many players to be the most impactful signing so far.

Kieran Trippier was the experienced veteran who was the first to join the project. Sandro Tonali was a truly world-class talent when he signed from AC Milan in 2023. And Dan Burn etched himself into local folklore with his commanding performances and that Carabao Cup final header.

But in many fans’ eyes, no one can compare to Bruno Guimaraes: our new captain joined from Lyon in 2022, and immediately clicked both on and off the pitch. Since joining, he’s of course become a firm starter for the Brazilian National Team, and is the most dependable player under Carlo Ancelotti.

You can’t deny that Bruno’s presence in our midfield has helped elevate his compatriot Joelinton to new heights as well, with the pair at the very core of our success over the last couple of seasons.

So the more Brazilians, the merrier, and a new report from ESPN hints that that could soon be the case in our transfer policy…

Sporting director pushing for South American recruitment

Newcastle United will step up their efforts to sign rising Brazilian talent, particularly those under 22-years-old, starting from next summer’s transfer window.

This comes from ESPN Brazil, who reveal that the proposed initiative comes from recently-appointed sporting director Ross Wilson, who adopted a similar practice during his time at Nottingham Forest.

Amongst the Brazilians who made their way to the City Ground during Wilson’s tenure include the defensive duo of Murillo and Jair Cunha, as well as striker Igor Jesus, all of whom would be a welcome additions at reasonable prices.

In the last few weeks alone, we’ve been closely linked with Palmeiras midfielder Allan Elias: the Sao-Paulo outfit have produced some of the most promising players in world football in the last three seasons, including Chelsea’s Estevao and Real Madrid’s Endrick.

The foundations look to already be in place for Wilson to get to work on bringing some fresh Brazilians to the North East, as recently-hired scout Thomas Federspiel arrives as a first team and global scout for Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.

Overseas signings the way forward?

If this past summer transfer window was enough of an indicator, it should be that Howe, Wilson and our recruitment team should stay as far away from the domestic market as possible when it comes to potential signings, and focus all our efforts on bringing in bargain buys and Thiaw-like gems from abroad.

There’s pros and cons on scouting in both the European and South American markets, however. The competition for talent in Brazil is fierce, with the aforementioned Chelsea and Real Madrid being prevalent in the region. Both clubs can also offer substantially more money and opportunities than we currently can as well.

The market in Europe is also interesting: it’s where we signed Bruno and Joelinton from, as well as current club standouts Malick Thiaw, Nick Woltemade and Sven Botman. Plus, young talents from Europe’s lesser known leagues (think Yankuba Minteh) can often be cheaper than the top prodigies coming from Brazil and Argentina.

That’s not to say we’ll now stop buying domestically altogether, but with the £100m spent on Elanga and Ramsey being the same figure it took to secure Bruno and Tonali, it’s easy to see why we’re targeting overseas markets for first-team additions or young gems able to help us recruit well in the world of PSR.