Newcastle spent a substantial £124 million in the 2023–24 season, acquiring four players on permanent contracts and one on a season-long loan, despite the limitations of FFP and PSR.
In order to recover part of their investment, the Magpies also let go of Chris Wood and Allan Saint-Maximin, who brought in about £15 million for Wood and £23 million for Saint-Maximin, who is currently dominating at Nottingham Forest with eight goals in 11 games this season.
Newcastle’s signings for 2023–2024
The player
Charge (£)
Tonali Sandro
£55 million
Harvey Barnes
£36.7m
Tino Livramento
£31m
Yankuba Minteh
£6.6m
Data taken from Transfermarkt
Sandro Tonali, who cost over £55 million to acquire from AC Milan, was the greatest summer acquisition. Other permanent additions included Yankuba Minteh, Tino Livramento, and Harvey Barnes.
Sandro Tonali’s time at Newcastle
Tonali made 130 appearances for AC Milan in Italy prior to joining Newcastle, recording seven goals and 13 assists in 9,158 minutes of play.
Tonali is a highly regarded midfield player who excels at carrying the ball in central areas. He can win duels by going box to box in the middle of the pitch and has a long passing range.
After missing most of the previous season due to a betting suspension, the Italian has just made a comeback to Newcastle’s starting lineup, making 11 appearances and dishing up two assists in 562 minutes.
Italy defeated Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League this week thanks to a goal from Tonali, which kept them atop Group 2 in League A.
However, Newcastle may have a midfield player rising through the ranks who is even better than Tonali. Like the Italian, he earned his Newcastle debut in 2023.
Newcastle’s £100m man in the making
After graduating from Newcastle’s academy, Lewis Miley made his Premier League debut in May 2023. In his brief career, the 18-year-old has made 28 appearances, recording 1,744 minutes with one goal and four assists.
According to Transfermarkt, the 18-year-old English midfielder is already valued at almost £18 million, up from a mere £2 million in the previous 12 months. There is no reason why Miley can’t become as valuable as some of the best English midfielders if he keeps up his current rapid ascent.
For example, Declan Rice. Before being acquired by Arsenal for more over £100 million, he, like Miley, made his first-team debut at West Ham at a young age. Why? Although he is an extremely talented golfer, his English heritage has undoubtedly aided him.
Miley’s defensive numbers demonstrate that his tall 6′ 2″ physique makes him a formidable duel winner. He actually made more tackles and blocks per 90 last season—2.35 and 1.63, respectively—than Rice and Tonali combined.
Tonali & Rice vs. Miley (2023–24 season)
Statistics (per 90 minutes)
Miley
Tonali
Rice
Objectives + Helps
0.26
0.13
0.34
Carries That Are Progressive
0.98
2.39
2.23
Progressive Passes
3.79
3.73
7.75
Shots Total
0.72
0.79
1.35
Key Passes
0.98
1.19
1.21
Passes into Pen Area
0.85
0.75
0.96
Shot-Creating Actions
2.16
2.24
2.48
Tackles
2.35
1.19
2.17
Blocks
1.63
0.60
1.07
Interceptions
0.67
0.53
1.22
Stats taken from FBref
The young player’s strong engine enables him to move from box to box as effectively as Rice, influencing every phase for his team—a crucial quality for midfielders in the present era.
The 18-year-old’s 2.16 shot-creating actions per 90 demonstrate his calmness on the ball, even though his progression metrics are marginally poorer than those of Rice and Tonali. He looks to play through the lines, take the ball in confined spaces, and assist in the attacking zones.
Given that Arsenal’s club-record player eventually commanded a £105 million fee by the time he was 24, Miley may be able to achieve the same level of success. The adolescent has already shown exponential improvement in the last 12 months.
His worth might skyrocket once more if those progression metrics start to improve and the Toon youngster takes Tonali’s place. Alexander Isak is already expected to cost Newcastle £100 million, and Anthony Gordon has also been rumoured to cost the same amount. Miley might be the next one.
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