Newcastle United are hoping to flex their newly-found financial muscle in the final fortnight of the transfer window as they pivot away from signing potential and towards experience and pedigree.
The sales of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon for a combined total of more than £200m this summer has unlocked spending power that the club plan to use before 1 September to strengthen the squad.
A move for Manchester City midfielder Nico Gonzalez is being actively worked on, although sources stress there are other deals “of a similar profile” they could switch to as they look to add upgrades who would seriously raise the level of Matthias Jaissle‘s first team.
So far the club’s recruitment drive has centred around players of potential who are mostly aged around 20, pulling the average age of the squad down to 25.9 from 27 last year.
But the signing of Benfica’s Bosnia international Amar Dedic, who turned 24 when Newcastle announced his signing earlier this week, is the first of more high-profile incomings being worked on by the club. The players are likely to be older and have more experience.
