Gary Lineker's quip about Newcastle's failed attempt to sign England star Marc Guehi even left fellow pundit Alan Shearer laughing.
The Magpies struggled to make a splash in the summer transfer market, signing just five players. English defensive pair Lewis Hall - whose loan move from Chelsea was made permanent for £28million - and free agent Lloyd Kelly are the only summer recruits to have made Premier League appearances so far.
A lot of the club's attention, once the profit and sustainability rules deadline had passed, was focused on Crystal Palace captain Guehi – who Newcastle believed would solve their centre-half woes. However, the two parties couldn't quite reach an agreement on their valuations, despite Eddie Howe's side offering a reported £65m plus £5m add-ons deal, and the move collapsed.
Shearer's beloved club suffering such embarrassment after being rebuked by Palace over Guehi was too much to bear for the 54-year-old’s colleague Lineker, who just had to take a jibe after England’s 2-0 win over Ireland, in which Guehi impressed once again off the back of a stellar tournament at Euro 2024.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast about Guehi’s performance after the Three Lions’ 2-0 UEFA Nations League victory, Lineker teased: “I thought Marc Guehi looked very impressive again. I just wonder, Alan, why Newcastle didn’t go for him in the summer?”
After a spell of laughter, Shearer replied: “He looked good, didn’t he? I thought his passing was really good. You know when you’re fizzing it into the middle and having to get through and break the line.
"I thought some of his passing was superb. He didn’t have to defend too much, but then you're on the ball and with possession, you need someone like that.”
Despite a solid start to the season, taking seven points from a possible nine - including a notable 2-1 win over Tottenham last time out - Shearer’s old side are undoubtedly short-staffed at the back.
Natural full-back Emil Krafth has been filling in at centre-half, while Dan Burn is the only recognised player in the position right now. Fabian Schar's opening-day red card against Southampton saw him banned for three games, and Sven Botman remains sidelined after an ACL injury last term. New man Kelly, whilst having played the role at his old club Bournemouth, has so far been preferred as a left-back ahead of Hall.
This lack of proper defensive reinforcement led Howe’s team to pursue Guehi so tenaciously, despite what fans have dubbed the ‘Newcastle Tax’ – the idea that rival clubs will charge the Magpies more for players due to their wealthy Saudi Arabian ownership.
“There are things we got wrong in our strategy, for sure,” Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell stated, reflecting on the transfer window. “If we could have signed a player that we actively felt could make a really good squad better, would we? Of course, we would have done.
“The [Tax] was a real thing. Is there a point of value for every single player and did this football club need to draw a line in the sand of ‘we’re not going to overpay?'
“It’s about setting precedents to the market that we will pay fair value for the right profile. It should not be lobbied against ambition because if we just spend, spend, spend, spend once again, we become accountable to that. That isn’t good leadership, that isn’t being a good custodian of the club, that isn’t taking your role responsibly. We’re not going to do that.”