Published Sep 19, 2026, 7:15 AM GMT+1

Huge money has been spent to help the Magpies be competitive in England’s top-flight, with over £700m worth of new additions arriving within the last five years.

The likes of Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak played vital roles in the Carabao Cup triumph during 2024/25, but none of the aforementioned talents now ply their trade on Tyneside.

As a result, Matthias Jaissle has had to work with the players at his disposal following his appointment this summer, which could see another go down as a waste of money.

Why Botman has become a problem for Newcastle

Nine months into the Saudi PIF’s tenure at them, they had to face their first summer transfer window and were handed an opportunity to overhaul the senior squad.

Centre-back Sven Botman was one of the players who arrived at St James’ Park that window, subsequently arriving from Lille for a fee in the region of £33m.

High hopes were placed on the Dutchman to lead the backline into the future, but it’s safe to say he’s massively struggled to produce the goods on Tyneside over recent years.

Despite the early excitement around his signing, the fanbase have often been left frustrated with the 26-year-old as a result of his constant injury issues at St James’ Park.

Botman has so far missed 68 league games in his four years at the club, with such a tally just 22 games fewer than his actual appearance tally since his big-money move.

Even when fit, he’s often struggled to cope with the pace and intensity of the Premier League - as seen on Monday night during the 4-1 hammering against Leeds United at Elland Road.

Such a performance has seen fans debate whether he should start once again this weekend, which further demonstrates that he’s been unable to take the defence to the heights many anticipated.

Newcastle flop is becoming a worse signing than Botman

The departure of numerous key senior members has seen the hierarchy spend big in recent years to make the senior ranks one that is capable of competing in the Premier League.

With Guimaraes and Tonali both departing this summer, Jaissle and the recruitment team had to work tirelessly to improve the midfield department ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

The likes of Sean Steur, Aladji Bamba and Nico Gonzalez all arrived to provide needed depth and quality - with the club’s midfield overhaul now complete.

However, the same situation unfolded last summer, as the Magpies decided to spend a reported £69m on the signature of Nick Woltemade to replace the departing Isak.

The German arrived from Stuttgart with high hopes of being the club’s next elite-level talisman and potentially helping mount a fresh push for silverware on Tyneside.

A little over 12 months on, and it’s safe to say the big-money signing of the 24-year-old has been a complete disaster and one the board will want to forget in a hurry.

The German only netted eight times in the Premier League last season, with only one of his efforts coming in the final six months of the campaign.

As a result, he dropped down the pecking order on Tyneside, which eventually saw him fall below youngster Will Osula towards the back end of the campaign.

Jaissle’s arrival was seen as a positive for his compatriot, but the new boss has seemingly given up hope of handing the forward a chance to revive his career.

Woltemade has been sent out on loan to Italian side Juventus for the entirety of the current campaign in a bid to recapture his best form in front of goal.

The £69m fee for his signature was bad enough, but the club were also paying the attacker a reported £7m in wages last season alone - taking the expenditure of his signature to £76m.

Spending that amount of money on a player who has been shipped out a year later showcases how poor the deal to sign him was - which you could argue ended up being a panic buy.

He’s undoubtedly fallen into the category of failing to deliver during his time at Newcastle and has emulated Botman in proving not to be worth the big money spent on his signature.