Newcastle qualified for the Champions League in the 2022/23 season in their first season under Saudi Arabian ownership, and then they slid back to disappointment in the 2023/24 season, failing to qualify for the Champions League and build on their success.
Faced with the need to have a big summer, Newcastle ended up with a poor offseason, signing no new starters and instead focusing heavily on depth players. Not all was bad for Newcastle this summer, but for what was needed to get back to the Champions League level, this window was clearly lacking.
So here are the grades for all of Newcastle’s summer 2024 signings, with prices coming from Transfermarkt.
GK Odysseas Vlachodimos, €23.6M
Odysseas Vlachodimos is a very good goalkeeper who is capable of challenging Nick Pope as the new starter for Newcastle, as he’s had six career seasons with a save percentage above 75 between his time at Panathinaikos and Benfica.
The problem is that Vlachodimos comes to Newcastle having fielded very few starts for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, and many years ago, he was also seldom-used at another team in a top-five league, VfB Stuttgart.
Vlachodimos and other goalkeepers generally translate their play well from other leagues, but Newcastle perhaps could have saved money on a backup to push Pope, considering Liverpool only spent marginally more on a much better keeper in Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Grade: D
ST William Osula, €11.6M
Just 21 years old, striker William Osula is the definition of an uncertain commodity, as Newcastle are spending a significant amount of money on a player who never even scored a goal for Sheffield United last season.
Osula actually only even started nine games for Sheffield in the Premier League, and he started just a few matches for Derby in League One the previous season, making him a huge gamble on the Magpies’ part.
Newcastle should be trusted since their talent ID has generally been excellent on the transfer market, but this feels like an example of gross overpay by the Magpies, though, with Saudi Arabia owning them, they pretty much have to pay almost double the price for most players anyway.
Grade: D
CB Lloyd Kelly, Free
Lloyd Kelly has to be the best signing Newcastle made in the summer 2024 transfer window, as the center back was a starter for Bournemouth last season and will be quality depth for the Magpies.
Newcastle came into the summer transfer window with the center back position as a priority despite having one of the best duos in Europe on their hands, as one half of that duo, Sven Botman, is injured with a torn ACL.
Although Newcastle would have loved to get their hands on Marc Guehi, Kelly is a solid player and was easily one of the best free agents available in the Premier League this summer.
Grade: B
GK John Ruddy, Free
The 37-year-old John Ruddy is the definition of a grizzled veteran, as he’s been around English football since 2003 when he was in the fourth tier with Cambridge United.
Ruddy fought his way up the ladder, eventually landing his first Premier League gig in 2005 with Everton, then a more permanent stay at Norwich City in the early 2010s up until he was around 30, at which point he moved to Wolves.
Now, Ruddy is playing for the biggest club of his career in Newcastle, though it’s fair to wonder why the Magpies even bothered signing an aging, no-name keeper from Birmingham City to be the third stringer who never plays.
Ruddy hasn’t had a save percentage in the Premier League above 70 since 2012 with Norwich.
Grade: F
