We’re not sure what to make of Paul Merson’s sudden pro-Newcastle sentiment.
We’re so used to Paul Merson using any stick at his disposal to beat Newcastle that it’s difficult to take compliments from him, but he’s done it again.
Newcastle face Arsenal this weekend, the club Merse represented for 12 years, so you’d expect him to favor the Gunners.
That may be true, but in his most recent Sky Sports column, he has been praising Newcastle.
Merson has written about Eddie Howe’s fantastic job and praised Anthony Gordon, saying he’s improving week by week, but he’s mostly impressed by the way Newcastle has approached player recruitment.
“The new owners have not just come in and bought superstar after superstar to rock the boat. They have brought in quality players like Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak. There are not many players that have come in and flopped. Anthony Gordon is also one that is improving week on week.
“They could have got lazy and just spent a load of money on big-time players, bringing in £100m, £120m players with the money they have. They didn’t and they have looked at players to suit the way they want to play. You cannot talk highly enough about the recruitment at the club and you can’t say that about every club in the Premier League.”
Financial Fair Play has undoubtedly played a role in Newcastle’s recruitment strategy, but Dan Ashworth and Eddie Howe appear to be on the same page in terms of the type of player to bring in.
Both men appear to favor bringing in a younger player with world-class potential to help mold. They don’t find stars; they make them.
It is ultimately much more satisfying for everyone. The excitement of signing a Kylian Mbappe would be huge, and it would be fun, but turning an Anthony Gordon, who everyone could see had potential but wasn’t being used, into an absolute star is something special.
Even if FFP was repealed tomorrow, we’d like to think Newcastle would stick with their current strategy.
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