Newcastle ‘wanted to sign’ seven top Premier League players after Saudi takeover

The Magpies have spent €652 million since their 2021 takeover

The North-East outfit, previously owned by British businessman Mike Ashley, were bought out by a Saudi-led consortium for a reported price of £300 million more than four years ago.

The largest investor in the takeover were the "Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund," taking a 80% stake in the club.

At the time, the chairman outlined his ambitions for Newcastle, saying: "We are extremely proud to become the new owners of Newcastle United, one of the most famous clubs in English football."

It wasn't long before the new owners got to work investing in new players, after replacing Steve Bruce with Eddie Howe.

While more than £600 million has been spent on new acquisitions since, at the time of the takeover, the owners targeted seven players they wanted to sign, only one of whom actually made it to St James' Park.

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Per The Mirror's report, the Magpies were interested in signing all of; Lloyd Kelly, Yves Bissouma, Kalvin Phillips, Darwin Nunez, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dean Henderson and Sam Johnstone.

In the end, only Englishman Kelly made it to Newcastle, and after struggling to nail down a regular spot, he departed for Bournemouth in 2024, before signing for Italian giants Juventus this summer.

Newcastle may not have managed to secure all seven of their initial targets, but their fans have since been treated to witnessing the likes of Alexander Isak, Anthony Elanga, Kieran Trippier, and Nick Woltemade at St James' Park.

Eddie Howe's squad continue their campaign to defend their status as Carabao Cup champions against Fulham on Wednesday night.