Crystal Palace took advantage of Newcastle’s 2024 transfer woe when they swooped to sign star
(Image: Ian Tuttle/Shutterstock)
Newcastle United have been told they’d need a £70m price tag if they want to sign Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton in January.
As reported earlier this month on Chronicle Live, senior recruitment scouts have been spotted at Palace games home and away as the club continue to run the rule over Marc Guéhi but Wharton is also catching the eye. Despite AI becoming more prevalent in Premier League scouting in this data driven era, Newcastle are still keen to stay on the road of traditional scouting and have eyes and ears at matches rather than skimming through video clips.
Newcastle looked at Wharton during his Blackburn days with former Rovers scout Steve Nickson a big fan of the Palace star. Wharton has come on leaps and bounds since making the £22m move to Selhurst Park from Lancashire and has FA Cup and FA Community Shield winners medals in his locker these days with the Eagles.
United were not in a position to sign Wharton in 2024 as they were restricted by PSR rules. Wharton’s only England cap actually came at St James’ Park when he made an appearance in the 3-0 win over Bosnia on Tyneside.
But Wharton now has Manchester United trailing him, and a January bid could be on the cards as the Red Devils look to add quality to their ranks. At 21, Wharton is a player that fits the search criteria that Eddie Howe and his scouts have been set by PIF given he would have sell on value.
On the subject of January, Howe spoke on Friday about potential winter signings, he said: “Every transfer window for me is an opportunity to invest, and we will look at it and try and make the best decisions for the future of the club, knowing what we have available in that window and then the following windows, and try and make the best decisions.
“I would love to get to a situation where we can invest in every window. Not necessarily big outlays, sometimes small outlays to keep the fluidity in the squad and keep building forward, but we haven’t had those discussions yet.”
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Former Middlesbrough boss returns to his roots
A packed crowd enjoyed Newcastle’s victory over Benfica this week as Eddie Howe’s side ran out 3-0 winners over Benfica. But there were some interested spectators in the crowd on Tuesday night.
Up in the stands sat former Manchester United Champions League winner and England star Michael Carrick who watched on as his boyhood club produced a stunning victory. Carrick left Middlesbrough back in June, but despite being black and white daft as a youngster, he wasn’t there cheering the Magpies on.
Carrick was back at work in his role as a UEFA Technical Observer as he waits for his next managerial opportunity.
Newcastle United coach Peter Ramage
Toon call in old boy for help
It’s been a week of high emotions behind the scenes as Becky Langley left her post on Tuesday night. The club announced the women’s team boss had “parted ways” with the Magpies.
Her assistant Claire Ditchburn has replaced her on an interim basis but former Newcastle and Queens Park Rangers defender Peter Ramage answered the call to help this week. The former youth coach has parked his scouting duties at United to help the Lasses.
A club statement read: “United Women can confirm that assistant manager Claire Ditchburn will lead the team on an interim basis. She will be assisted by former Magpies defender, and current assistant loan player manager, Peter Ramage.
“Goalkeeper coach Stephen Brass and first team coach Luke Thomas-Arayo will continue in their respective roles. The team have now begun preparations for our trip to Ipswich Town Women on Sunday, 2nd November following the international break.”
Newcastle hoping for fresh PSR windfall
The Magpies attracted a crowd of over 35,000 for the women’s Tyne-Wear derby back in March on a day in which the Carabao Cup was paraded on the hallowed turf for the first time on Tyneside.
Newcastle triumphed 1-0 on that day but it wasn’t the only win that was being celebrated behind the scenes at St James’ Park. Indeed, the fact that such a huge crowd generated superb gate receipts and there was a real bump in sales at the club shop has now also been revealed by Toon chiefs.
With promoting the women’s game also intergral for good PSR figures, as Man City and Liverpool are finding out, Newcastle must now follow suit.
The recent Fan Advisory Board meeting revealed: “St James’ Park generated £48k in retail revenue during the NUW fixture against Sunderland, this compares favourably with men’s games played at a similar time in the season.”
And Newcastle are also delivering in terms of merchandise from the women’s game, as United confirmed: “For the 2025/26 NUW season, it was confirmed two trading areas will be available at Gateshead Stadium. Fans can now purchase shirts with “Howay the Lasses” as well as “Howay the Lads.”
“Five Women’s player names are currently available for shirt printing, with plans to expand the selection based on levels of demand.”
