Football FanCast looks at the top ten most forgotten transfers at Newcastle United during the Mike Ashley era. From one-month emergency loans, scooping up ex-Premier League winners to signing players that never made a single domestic appearance for the club – this exploration into the wild transfer scene of the last 15 years unmasks the players who were buried in blurred memories.
10 Islam Slimani
The striker was brought to Newcastle by Rafa Benitez in the 2017/18 season on loan from Leicester to help solve the Magpies' goalscoring problems, with Joselu and Dwight Gale struggling. Yet, the only thing he spent his time doing was trying to solve how he managed to get banned for three games after only 132 minutes of Premier League football.
The Foxes bought the striker for a reported fee of £30m following his prolific time at Sporting CP, where he scored 48 goals in 82 matches, providing eight assists.
Upon his arrival, he stated, “It’s a great thing for me and Newcastle.”
However, the etymology of 'great' has to be explored here, as the now 34-year-old’s time on Tyneside was nothing but a forgotten memory for Newcastle fans. His record in the league of four games without a goal and an assist, alongside his suspension, also makes him one of the most useless NUFC transfers of the last decade.
9 Stephen Ireland
Despite Alan Pardew’s delight, this move was a disaster for the Republic of Ireland international.
At the time, the 24-year-old was praised for his “creativity” and his ability to contribute goals, with former Newcastle boss Pardew even suggesting he could’ve been a “big factor” in the Magpies’ season as he was described as a “real top player”.
Yet very little came of his loan spell back in January 2011, with the midfielder only making two appearances and accumulating just 52 minutes on the field due to a plethora of injuries he suffered during his time in the north-east.
In the 2008/09 season, aged 21, Ireland appeared to be a very talented player who was seemingly poised to make a significant impact in the Premier League. He contributed to 18 goals for Manchester City in 35 games that season. Yet, in his remaining ten years of being a professional player, he only scored a further five goals – ending his career at Stoke City in 2018.
8 Seydou Doumbia
This list wasn’t intended to be the worst Newcastle transfers, however, Doumbia is certainly not helping that cause.
Supposedly landing fit and ready to play from Italy, Steve McClaren signed the striker on a half-season loan from AS Roma on deadline day in January 2016.
However, Doumbia’s impressive record of six goals in his last five games against Premier League clubs in the Champions League was not built upon in the slightest. The only thing that was built upon was the growing confusion among the Newcastle fanbase as to why their club had bought a striker who later revealed that he “was not fit” during his time up north.
The Ivorian made his club debut for the under-21 team in a 2-1 defeat to Stoke City, but the only memorable event about his performance was his diabolical first touch from the kick-off, where the ball seemingly repelled from his foot as he attempted to dribble forward. Doumbia also only managed 45 minutes on the pitch, as he stunned fans with his rustiness.
Neither McClaren nor Doumbia made much of an impact on the club after that game, with the latter only making three appearances and accumulating just over 30 minutes of game time – while the Englishman was replaced by Rafael Benitez in March 2016.
7 Romain Amalfitano
French midfielder Amalfitano joined on a free from Reims in July 2012, with the overarching aim to bolster Newcastle’s squad ahead of a potential European campaign.
However, it was joked among fans that scouts landed the wrong brother, with Morgan Amalfitano performing credibly for Marseille at the time. Indeed, Romain was unable to replicate the performances of his sibling and contributed almost nothing to the Magpies.
Now 33, he told the media when he joined Pardew’s men that he was excited to play for such an iconic club and “took the opportunity to play in the Premier League”.
Although, for Amalfitano, that seemingly guaranteed chance of playing in the top flight never happened. The player failed to make a single domestic appearance for the club, only featuring in five Europa League games.
He was renowned for his versatility, though this was only exercised through his ability to sit on different areas of the bench during his time at Newcastle, before he was loaned out to French Ligue 2 side Dijon.
6 Mehdi Abeid
The defensive midfielder joined Newcastle in 2011 from Lens in France at just 18 years old.
Despite only making 21 appearances for the club, the Algerian put in some worthy displays and was unlucky to miss a significant number of games through injury. He later admitted in 2020 that he played through a broken toe with injections in a clash against Burnley and that after the game, “he couldn’t walk”.
One of the reasons his name makes the list is due to the midfield duo of Yohan Cabaye and Cheick Tiote, who, at the time, stole most of the limelight with their solid partnership.
Abeid, now 30 years old, plays for Khorfakkan in the United Arab Emirates Pro League. Perhaps a reunion between him, Steven Taylor and Mike Ashley awaits as the latter continues to help set up a new club in Dubai.
5 Danny Rose
Anyone else remember this?
The left-back joined on a half-season loan from Tottenham in January 2020. Yet, those who can recall the England international’s time at Newcastle won’t have been shouting from the rooftops about his performances. In fact, Geordies may likely remember the defender primarily for his lacklustre efforts, which coincided with Steve Bruce's tenuous tenure.
Rose told the media he was “over the moon” with his first win in over six months following Newcastle’s 1-0 away victory against Southampton in March 2020.
Yet, this was not echoed among the majority of fans. Many argued he never should have been in the starting XI
The former Sunderland player would only rack up 11 appearances for the Magpies before returning to Spurs and arguably only got his place through the injuries of Jetro Willems and Paul Dummett, who both missed a considerable number of games in the 2020/21 Premier League season.
His career then continued to spiral downhill as Daniel Levy failed to see a future for him in north London, with the player duly being scooped up by Watford on a free.
Then, when you think it couldn’t have got worse for the former Tottenham wonderkid, the Hornets proceeded to terminate his contract last September.
4 Jesus Gamez
The Spaniard became Benitez's inaugural signing after his appointment as manager. Arriving for an undisclosed fee, his primary objective was to aid the Magpies in achieving promotion back to the top division.
Gamez was a highly experienced defender who had played 31 games for Atletico Madrid in the season prior to his departure to the north-east. However, despite this, he only managed to accumulate ten appearances in all competitions over two years for Newcastle and had a minimal effect on United’s promotion campaign.
This was partially due to apparent early fitness issues he suffered, as well as breaking his collarbone in November 2016, which had seen him miss six weeks of football.
Although the player has seemingly not officially retired, he has not been seen playing at a professional level since leaving the club at the end of the 2017/18 season.
3 Sol Campbell
The former Tottenham captain made the move to Newcastle in July 2010 after rejecting a two-year contract offer from Celtic.
Campbell, who was 35 years old when he joined, made his first league appearance for Chris Hughton’s men in the League Cup against Chelsea – a match that turned out to be a 4-3 thriller, with Newcastle walking away victorious.
If the Toon had looked to sign the ex-Premier League winner earlier in his career, it would have undoubtedly been touted as a great signing. However, the defender that arrived at Tyneside looked a rather lethargic, worn-out version of the iconic centre-back fans were used to seeing.
And it wasn’t long after his arrival that Newcastle fans and football fanatics around the world would see the last of his playing days, as the Englishman was released for the very last time.
2 Andros Townsend
The winger’s time at the club seemed to flash by metaphorically and literally – he was incredibly quick.
Townsend joined Newcastle from Tottenham for £12m in January 2016, which was a sizable price tag for a player who had not completed 90 minutes for almost two years.
He contributed to four goals and two assists in 12 appearances for the Magpies under McClaren and Benitez, with his standout moment being a rather impressive free-kick against Crystal Palace – the club he would ironically join following his one-year spell on Tyneside.
1 Patrick van Aanholt
Finally, Football FanCast has decided that the most forgotten Newcastle transfer of the Ashley era goes to Van Aanholt, who joined the club as an 18-year-old on a one-month loan deal from Chelsea in the 2009/10 season.
The transfer was not planned in advance at all. The Dutchman was solely brought in to cover the left-back position while regular starter Jose Enrique recovered from a thigh injury.
During his time up north, the defender was effectively deployed, featuring in every match under Hughton, falling short of completing the full 90 minutes on only one occasion.
Following his impressive displays for Newcastle, the youngster would then depart back to the Blues where he completed the remainder of his season.
The defender now plays for Turkish giants Galatasaray in the Super Lig, where he has made ten appearances this season, contributing two assists.