In the past few years Newcastle have become renowned as being a selling-club, run for profit by Mike Ashley. Here we take a look at the deals which have brought in the greatest profits and how the players went on to do.
Andy Carroll
The astronomical fee pay paid by Liverpool for Carroll’s services in the January window of 2011 stands as the clear winner. Gateshead-born Carroll joined his boyhood side as a youth player and moved up through the ranks.
After a strong start to his debut Premier League season, Liverpool came calling as they sought to replace Chelsea bound Fernando Torres. As the Spaniard departed Anfield for £50million, a flush Liverpool agreed to fork out £35million on his Geordie replacement.
Carroll went on to struggle on Merseyside and later moved to West Ham for £15million in 2013. Though this ended a disastrous spell at Anfield, his spell at Upton Park hasn’t exactly been brilliant. Injuries and the emergence of Diafra Sakho have seen Carroll struggle for game time.
All parties involved with the Carroll-Liverpool switch suffered. Newcastle failed to find a consistent number 9 and played a season without a goalscorer, though the £35million golden handshake eased their woes.
Not only is this Newcastle’s transfer profit, but it ranks in the global top 20 most profitable transfers ever – sitting alongside the man whose transfer was overshadowed by Carroll’s arrival at Liverpool, Luis Suarez.
Cost: Free
Sale Price: £35 million
Profit: £35 million
Yohan Cabaye
Yohan Cabaye’s sale to French champions PSG is undoubtedly the turning point in the recent history of the club.
Since his departure, Newcastle have struggled and the Geordie faithful have become disillusioned with the club. The recent arrival of Steve McClaren, his backroom staff and Georginio Wijnaldum have created a sense of optimism, but the club must not take this for granted. Another few signings are needed before Newcastle fans trust the club again.
Cabaye joined Newcastle from Ligue 1 outfit Lille in the summer of 2011 for a fee in the region of £4.3million. ‘Dreamboat’ spent three years on Tyneside, entertaining the regulars, before deciding to move on.
He elected to try force a move to Arsenal by going on strike ahead of Newcastle’s opener against Manchester City, but it was a good few months before he finally left for French giants PSG.
Cabaye cost the Ligue 1 champions roughly £19million, giving Newcastle a healthy £14.7million profit, but failure to reinvest the Cabaye funds left Newcastle fighting relegation.
Much like Carroll, Cabaye failed to make an impact at his new side and proved the grass is not always greener. He recently completed a move to Crystal Palace for half of what PSG paid.
Cost: £4.3 million
Sale Price: £19 million
Profit: £14.7 million
James Milner
In 2004, Leeds United’s difficult financial position was exploited by Newcastle as they signed their exciting, young British prospect with hughe potential for a fee of £3.6million – worth noting that just six months later Newcastle signed Jean-Alain Boumsong for £8million. He never managed to meet his full potential, but Milner was still a decent player.
He was frozen out under Graeme Souness and joined Aston Villa on loan for the 2005/06 season, before making the move permanent in 2008 for £12million.
The fee represented a significant return on Newcastle’s investment, especially as Milner failed to produce consistenly due to injury or a lack of fitness while on Tyneside.
Milner enjoyed much more success in claret and blue and won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2009/10. His fine form attracted interest from Manchester City who eventually signed him for £20million plus Steven Ireland.
Cost: £3.6 million
Sale Price: £12 million
Profit: £8.4 milllion
Sebastien Bassong
A surprise entry at number 4, the Cameroon international joined Newcastle in 2008 and was perhaps the only bright spark in the dismal relegation season. Bassong, who had originally joined on trial, cost £500,000 from French side FC Metz but after relegation he demanded a move away from Tyneside.
Bassong was not short of suitors and a move to Tottenham went ahead for £8million. Bassong enjoyed a decent spell at White Hart Lane but after being sent out on loan to Wolves during the 2011/12 season, he moved to Norwich where he remains.
Cost: £500,000
Sale Price: £8 million
Profit: £7.5 million
Demba Ba
Demba was the steal of the season after a release clause guaranteed him a free transfer in the event of West Ham’s relegation.
After a slow start due to the exhaustion of Muslim fasting season Ramadan, Ba began to hit the net with regularity. Demba bagged 15 goals by the turn of the year as Newcastle surged up the table. The arrival of fellow compatriot Papiss Cisse saw Ba pushed out on to the wing by Alan Pardew and he only managed a solitary goal during the second half of the season.
Another release clause saw Ba leave Tynside to join Chelsea for just £7million but the return of Jose Mourinho left Ba out of favour. His most famous moment in a Chelsea shirt was being the recipient of Stevie Gerrard’s infamous slip in the title shootout at Anfield. Ba, like many others, failed to reach the heights he had achieved at Newcastle and can now be found playing for Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese League, no doubt for a vast sum of money.
Cost: Free
Sale Price: £7 million
Profit: £7 million
Honourable mentions must also go to Mathieu Debuchy (a profit of £6.5million), Shay Given (also £6.5million) and Andy Cole, whose £7million transfer in January 1995 gave a profit of £5.25million and adjusted for inflation would have jumped in in 3rd place with a profit of around £10million.
