What's happening with Newcastle?

Newcastle United are at a crucial crossroads in the summer of 2025.

Amid mounting pressure surrounding the future of star striker Alexander Isak, the Magpies need to develop long-term strategies to avoid losing the momentum they have achieved over the past few years.

What about Isak?

Isak's future is in the spotlight, with manager Eddie Howe attempting to calm the noise surrounding the striker by allowing him to leave the Glasgow training camp on July 19 to avoid media scrutiny.

However, the bigger picture at St James' Park demands clear answers from the board, especially the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), who own the club. Newcastle have not made a serious mistake in Isak's case. They have stuck to their no-sale stance and have shown their determination to keep the player.

In his first press conference since the end of the season, coach Howe affirmed: "I am confident that Isak will stay when the season starts". However, the English strategist also chose his words carefully, avoiding absolute confidence in keeping the Swedish striker, when the possibility of Isak going to Liverpool or Al-Hilal is still possible.

Liverpool, with their vast financial resources, could have spent £120m, but Newcastle valued Isak at a higher £150m. In parallel with their pursuit of Isak, Liverpool signed Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for £82.3m.

Arsenal, another rival, gave up on signing Isak a few months ago, while rumours of Al-Hilal - also owned by PIF - wanting to own the Newcastle striker have caused a lot of controversy.

If Isak does indeed move to Al-Hilal, it could weaken Newcastle, contrary to the ambitious plans promised by PIF earlier this year. Currently, Isak has not signed a contract extension with the "Magpies", in the context that he only receives £ 130,000 / week at Newcastle.

The 25-year-old striker is frustrated that the club have failed to deliver on their promise to offer him a new contract with better wages.

Transfer challenges

The bigger problem at Newcastle is the lack of consistency in its long-term strategy. Despite promising statements, the PIF has yet to address core issues such as stadium renovation, management reform and transfer strategy.

Isak is giving Newcastle a headache.

This is the second summer in a row that has seen major changes to the board. Newcastle have gone through two directors of football in 18 months, with chief executive Darren Eales now announcing his departure.

New sporting director Paul Mitchell has also left the club after criticising the current transfer model, leaving manager Howe in shock. Newcastle's management structure has also been in flux.

Howe had previously been reduced to a role in recruitment, but he is now the most influential voice in transfers, working alongside his nephew Andy Howe, who is assistant head of recruitment.

However, this change did not help Newcastle succeed in the transfer market. They failed to recruit 6 targets, including Hugo Ekitike (to Liverpool), Dean Huijsen, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, James Trafford and Bryan Mbeumo. Howe described this transfer window as disappointing for Newcastle.

Newcastle appear to have not learned their lesson from the summer of 2024, when they also failed to make a number of important signings. Newcastle are facing a difficult transfer market, where they need to find players of sufficient quality to improve their current squad, while still complying with the financial restrictions imposed by the PSR.

Howe frankly admitted: “Finances play a huge role. Anyone who thinks that is not true is delusional. We are not the highest paying team because our turnover is not the highest. We have to comply with the PSR and manage our salaries intelligently.”

Newcastle’s lack of strategic stability and transfer market failures are putting them in a difficult position. With the 2025/26 season looming, the club still has time to turn things around, but the pressure is mounting on the PIF and its board.

Retaining Isak is a top priority, but if they fail to address their recruitment and management issues, Newcastle risk falling behind in the Premier League and Europe.

PSG suffered a crushing defeat to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final. Early morning on July 14, PSG lost to Chelsea 0-3 in the match to decide the Club World Cup title.

Source: https://znews.vn/chuyen-gi-dang-xay-ra-voi-newcastle-post1570248.html