Newcastle close in on agreement that’s straight out of the Mike Ashley era

Newcastle United cannot allow heavy away defeats to the likes of Leeds United and Coventry to become the new norm. Matthias Jaissle’s side are in transition, but basics were ignored on Monday evening.

Carved open like a piping roast dinner, the Magpies have a wide number of problems. They are not creative enough, nor are they strong and resistent against pressure. Their aggressive nature, encouraged by the new manager, has left them porous in defence, and an exodus in the summer transfer market means the range of new signings have been thrown into the deep end.

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It all feels a bit doom and gloom, but Newcastle have come along way since the dark Mike Ashley-led days.

How Newcastle have moved away from the Mike Ashley days

When Steve Bruce was replaced by Eddie Howe at the start of the PIF era, few foresaw the meteoric rise that led St. James’ Park to multiple campaigns in the Champions League and a voyage past the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal and Liverpool to lift the Carabao Cup trophy at Wembley in 2025.

This success was built on the Tyneside outfit’s accuracy in the transfer market during those early days. Howe’s first port of call in January 2022 was to strengthen St. James’ Park by signing Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn – with Chris Wood and Matt Targett also added to the squad.

Such savvy spending was a far cry from the dark days of Ashley’s reign. He sold the club to Saudi-backed consortium PIF in 2021, but it ended an interminable reign of terror which kept the Magpies well away from desired status at the front-end of the Premier League.

Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

There’s no question that Newcastle have suffered a few more misses over the past year or so. Things aren’t quite right at the club, evidenced by Howe’s departure and the sales of so many superstars.

This has led technical director Ross Wilson to push to get one deal over the line in recent days, but it feels like it’s straight out of the Ashley playbook.

Newcastle deal is straight out of the Ashley era

Newcastle made sweeping changes in the summer transfer window. They were forced into that. However, there was plenty the Toon didn’t get right, and not cashing in on Jacob Murphy is surely chief among them.

Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

Murphy, 31, is currently in talks to extend his deal at St. James’ Park despite having made a shoddy start to the season. Given that Nottingham Forest saw a £15m offer rejected for his signature in August, it does feel like the sort of ill-thought decision-making which defined the Ashley era.

Jaissle prizes his system on its high-octane nature. He needs his players to be aggressive, but Murphy no longer brings the same kind of relentlessness to the table. The decision to keep him at the club continues to be more frustrating.

However, such potent form is well in the past now. Last season, the industrious winger only registered five goal involvements in the Premier League, and it looks like more of the same this term.

Murphy’s experience and leadership qualities were immediately valued by Jaissle when he walked through the door in August. He advocated for him to stay, and is playing a role in extending the veteran’s contract at the club.

Looking at it pragmatically, it does make sense. Murphy would have left on a free next year if not for Wilson and Jaissle’s intervention. However, there is an erraticness to the deal which carries with it the feel of Ashley splurging cash on dead-ends and misfires.

Murphy has been a stalwart for Newcastle, but he should have been sold this summer. Instead, Newcastle have missed out on a decent cheque which will not be attainable for the same price next summer, with the winger seemingly in freefall as he leaves his finest form on Tyneside behind him.