Abdulhafiz TeslimAnother big exit has been confirmed, and the worry is that it may not be the last. Is the domino effect now knocking Newcastle over? Will Sandro Tonali’s rush for the exit he has long targeted make it more likely that even the greatest of loyalists, captain Bruno Guimarães, will decide the game is up and follow him?
United desperately need to redirect public opinion, which means spending some of their new-found cash pretty quickly. The process is perhaps belatedly under way, with Bazoumana Touré due to arrive from Hoffenheim at a cost of more than £42 million. May he be followed by a fleet of taxis.
First Alexander Isak, then Anthony Gordon, now Tonali. The old gang are all deserting. The game is up. Their race is run.
We need to turn a tide that has relentlessly flowed against us.
Tonali’s departure is perhaps the biggest kick in the teeth of all. It shows a remarkable lack of respect for those who did so much to rescue him when he was a footballing pariah.
Isak’s move to Premier League champions Liverpool was, in his eyes, an upgrade. Gordon moving to Barcelona was understandable. But Tonali to Spurs? They have finished fourth from bottom in two successive seasons — one fragile step above relegation.
Oh, I know that living in the capital can be put forward as an incentive, and Tonali going to work for an Italian manager too. But, to be truthful, the transfer is all about chasing the cash, not medals. His wages are eye-watering. Good luck to him, but let’s not pretend this is a giant step forward in his career.
May I suggest that, in some ways, this transfer is almost as unappetising as that of Isak. The bitterness, infighting, mistrust, stubbornness and eventual knock-on effect make Isak’s departure stand out in history, but Tonali has shown a total lack of gratitude to those who rescued him. Different circumstances, but the same ruthless end product.
Gordon owed us nothing beyond thanks. Tonali did. The club and fans stood loyally by him during his 10-month ban for betting offences. His wages were paid and he was shown great love, but when the opportunity came, he was off across the Tyne Bridge — just as, apparently, was always the plan from the day he arrived on our patch. His agent has told us so: build him into a big star, then cash in on him.
The only good thing about the whole business, apart from getting rid of a player who no longer wanted to be here, is the fee: £93 million plus £7 million in add-ons. That’s a sound return — as was the £125 million for Isak.
The awesome midfield trio of Bruno, Tonali and Joelinton, who destroyed Liverpool and won us our first trophy in decades two seasons ago, now looks in danger of being utterly decimated. What reason does Bruno have to stay? He has been let down. Step forward Jacob Ramsey and Lewis Miley, our new saviours.
What we have to hope for now, apart from Bruno somehow staying, is that the domino effect doesn’t take Lewis Hall down as well.
Without his latest injury, Tino Livramento would almost certainly have been on his way to Manchester City. Instead, he was on his way to hospital and an uncertain future, at least in the short term with Newcastle.
This latest setback means he will not be fit until the final few weeks of August, making it increasingly unlikely that any club would shell out serious money given his lack of pre-season training and the short time frame before the transfer window closes on September 1.
United’s shopping list is as long as the A1. They require a goalkeeper, full-back, defensive midfielder, centre-forward and winger, just for starters.
That being the case, it is perhaps surprising that the first senior player signed is likely to be a left winger when Harvey Barnes is already in-house. Does that mean Barnes is on his way out?
If we are searching for positives in a Newcastle existence that currently seems full of negatives, then perhaps they lie within the World Cup. Maybe the four-yearly jamboree will kick-start the Newcastle careers of the previously dormant Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga this upcoming campaign. Yes, I mean it. Think of that: from flop to fully-fledged; from hopeless to hopeful.
Both have suddenly found themselves among the goals for their countries in the land of stars and stripes and, brother, do we hope it’s contagious.
Wissa, as timid as a dormouse since arriving from Brentford, where he gorged on goals, has done the conga with Congo, scoring three times to get them into the knockout stages for the first time before England broke their hearts.
Equally, Elanga, fast but feeble since leaving his Forest habitat, notched two crackers as Sweden made the last 32 after barely looking like qualifying. It made Elanga Sweden’s joint-top scorer, ahead of their illustrious strike duo of Isak and Arsenal’s Premier League-winning Viktor Gyökeres, who managed just one goal apiece.
However, that’s small comfort for Newcastle fans. Both have an awful lot of ground to make up in black and white, but we live in hope.
What the World Cup has spectacularly failed to do, of course, is give our record signing Nick Woltemade a massive adrenaline rush. Instead, it has left him lower than an underground cellar. Eddie Howe has some job on his hands trying to pick up the giant Nick when he eventually reports for pre-season training.
Right now, he must feel like he has been run over and flattened by a ten-ton truck.
Newcastle and Eddie Howe were on the receiving end of criticism from Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann for their handling of his World Cup star, but he didn’t give Woltemade a single minute during the group stage. Then, when the knockout match was on the line and Paraguay were holding Germany to a 1-1 draw, he only turned to the ignored Woltemade with two minutes of normal time remaining.
No goals were added during extra time, meaning it went to penalties — and Woltemade missed his, adding further misery to an already difficult tournament.
You have to feel sorry for the big fella. His character is going to be severely tested. Will he feel sorry for himself, train in leaden boots and trudge through matchdays? Or will he be determined to prove the world wrong, justify the faith shown by those who spent record money on him, and earn the admiration of fans who desperately want him to succeed?
He is still young, but he is unquestionably at a crossroads.
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Abdulhafiz Teslim
