10 players Newcastle have missed out on in the January transfer window
Martin Macdonald
- 27 Jan 2022 17:23 GMT
- 5 min read
When the takeover of Newcastle United was announced, fans of the club went into a frenzy thinking about which superstars the club could potentially sign as early as the January transfer window.
Fairytale names like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe did the rounds, while more down-to-earth suggestions also emerged.
Newcastle are in a desperate position the Premier League, flirting with relegation.
Eddie Howe has been given a blank cheque to get the club out of this position, but so far Newcastle have only been able to bring in Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood from Atletico Madrid and Burnley respectively.
The window promised so much more, but for one reason or another, several stars have been linked with Newcastle only for a deal to fail to materalise.
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Here is a selection of 10 - and there are more.
Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona)
A huge, but attainable name emerged as a Newcastle target in the form of Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian's big money move from Liverpool to Barcelona has proven to be a disaster for all parties, and the Blaugrana were desperate to offload him in order to cut their wage bill.
Newcastle could easily afford his massive wages, but Coutinho reportedly was never keen on the move, and was eventually seduced by Steven Gerrard to sign for Aston Villa instead.
Lucas Digne (Everton)
Full-backs were and still are on the agenda for Newcastle in January and when it was reported that Lucas Digne had fell out with Everton manager Rafa Benitez, Newcastle saw an opportunity.
They were the first club linked with the Frenchman when it became clear that he would be sold by Everton.
However, Newcastle were usurped by Aston Villa again as the Birmingham side paid around €27m to land Digne.
Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
The latest, and probably the most embarrassing, entry onto our list comes related to Aston Villa again.
According to the Mirror, Ashley Young is a wanted man this January and has been approached by both former club Watford and Newcastle.
However, Young has impressed Gerrard since the new manager came in, and wants to remain at Villa Park.
Diego Carlos (Sevilla)
Newcastle were prepared to break the back to sign Sevilla centre-back Diego Carlos.
However, as of this week talks have broken down, and judging by recent comments from director of football, Monchi, the deal is dead.
“Negotiations are over for Diego Carlos – he stays," Monchi said.
"Newcastle offer was a good, respectable offer but it’s not happening.
“The offer wasn’t enough. Maybe it wasn’t the right time. Diego is happy here.”
Sven Botman (Lille)
Sven Botman is in his second season in Ligue 1 since moving from Ajax. His first campaign was highly successful as he helped Lille to an unexpected title, but this term has been hit by injury issues.
He is viewed as a star of the future and potentially one of the best centre-backs in Europe over the next few years.
But, Newcastle distanced themselves from the deal after Lille demanded £46m.
Aaron Ramsey (Newcastle)
Juventus are desperate to get rid of Aaron Ramsey as soon as possible in order to get the Welshman off their wage bill.
Even though he is a bit-part player at the Allianz Stadium, he is one of the club's highest earners which is why they are pushing him to leave.
However, Ramsey has, so far, rejected moves to Newcastle, Burnley and Crystal Palace.
A relegation battle didn't seem to interest the former Arsenal midfielder.
Dean Henderson (Man Utd)
Dean Henderson was given the opportunity to impress in a short window last season at Manchester United.
But, the club now has decided that David de Gea is their undisputed number one which means the England international has seen hardly any game time.
Newcastle attempted to use this uncertainty to convince Henderson to move to St.James' Park, but the player himself is in no rush and has decided to wait until the summer to calculate his next career move.
Jesse Lingard (Man Utd)
Jesse Lingard seemed set to move to Newcastle during the January transfer window on loan, though the deal is by all accounts off.
Sky Sports reported on Wednesday that Newcastle’s hopes of signing the England man were “dead” due to the terms being requested by Man Utd for a player who finds himself out of contract at the end of June.
According to the Telegraph, it was simply the amount of money that Manchester United were after.
It is reported that they wanted an enormous £12 million bonus payment if Newcastle achieved Premier League survival with Lingard in their ranks – something they would surely be considered favourites to do given the investment that is set to be made in their team in the days ahead.
Equally, though, Man Utd wanted a further £4.5m in wages and other payments, taking the total cost of the deal for Newcastle to £16.5m.
Hugo Ekitike (Reims)
Newcastle attempted to sign Reims wonderkid Hugo Ekitike in January, but were knocked back by the French side due to the structure of the deal.
Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot explained to Le Quotidien du Sport:.
“They offered us €35m in total, but with a number of bonuses, including ones that were almost impossible to reach. Like, for example, winning the Champions League.
“We want €30m fixed price plus €10m of realistic bonuses.”
Donny van de Beek (Man Utd)
Donny van de Beek's transfer from Ajax to Manchester United has been a failure, with the Dutchman's career stagnating due to a lack of minutes at Old Trafford.
The midfielder arrived at Man Utd as their marquee signing in the summer of 2020, joining from Ajax for a reported fee of around €35 million.
He has never emerged as a key player, though, and hasn't started a single Premier League game in 2021/22.
He wants out, and Newcastle want him, but they are set to lose out on his signature to Crystal Palace.
