What Newcastle owner told supporter and transfer surprise may be on cards again after Bruno deal

The transfer window has only been open for little more than a week, but Newcastle United have already made a £15m signing in Matt Targett and new faces will follow in the coming months. That is for certain.

Yes, a permanent move for Targett was there to be done, after a successful loan spell last season, but Newcastle have already conducted more business than many of their Premier League rivals. In fact, Bournemouth, Brentford, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leicester City, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Wolves are all yet to make a single signing.

Also, unlike other occasions in the recent past, there can be no doubt that Newcastle are trying to do further deals. As part-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi put it to one particularly restless fan this week: 'Patience is a virtue'.

The reality is that 99% of supporters will recognise the challenges Newcastle have faced this summer, and they have not forgotten how far the club have come. It was only this time last year, after all, that Steve Bruce was doubtful that Newcastle would even be able to make Joe Willock's loan move permanent under the previous regime.

In the end, Newcastle managed to sign Willock, by 'breaking all the rules' to pay the fee in instalments, but the midfielder did not arrive until the final days of the window and proved the only signing the Magpies made in 2021 as a whole. An anonymous employee subsequently issued a club statement stating 'being run in a sustainable manner' does not come at the 'expense of being ambitious'.

Those words were written just days after Bruce was denied the chance to sign Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury on loan on deadline day. If ever a statement summed up the Ashley era.

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