Rating every player Newcastle United signed this season - including 2/10 disaster and £34m bargain
Newcastle United have spent over £250m on new players in the 2025/26 season
Newcastle United have endured a 2025/26 campaign they’d rather forget. As things stand, they are languishing all the way down in 13th in the Premier League table, after a lacklustre domestic campaign that has seen the Magpies unable to string together a run of decent results. As things stand, their hopes of securing European football for next season are exceedingly slim.
They bombed out the FA Cup in the fifth round, but did at least have a good crack at the Carabao Cup, making it to the semi-finals. The Champions League should also be deemed a relative success, with the Magpies making it through the group stage and the subsequent play-off, albeit before a 8-3 two-legged humbling at the hands of Barcelona.
Arguably, this largely frustrating campaign was set in motion last summer, when the Magpies allowed themselves to become consumed by the lengthy Alexander Isak to Liverpool saga - a tedious affair with an inevitable outcome that saw Newcastle left with no choice but to panic-buy their replacements.
As the season draws to a close and Howe’s side prepare themselves to bounce back in 2026/27, we’ve rated the season of every new signing who has joined the club over the past two transfer windows.
Rating every player Newcastle United signed this season - defence and midfield
Anthony Elanga - £55m from Nottingham Forest: 3/10. The ex-Man United prospect came in for a mega fee as the Magpies’ first signing of last summer, and he’s failed to live up to the price tag. In the Premier League he’s provided just one assist and not scored a single goal. He’s clearly a high quality player, but he just hasn’t adapted to Howe’s system at all.
Malick Thiaw - £34m from AC Milan: 8/10. The 24-year-old has unquestionably been the club’s signing of the season, and in contrast to Elanga, has looked to be a bargain at £34m. He’s adapted to the rigours of Premier League football seamlessly, and will be a crucial part of what could be an otherwise much changed starting XI heading into next season’s opening day.
Jacob Ramsey - £43m from Aston Villa: 4/10. Another signing who’s been unable to deliver on their potential, the central midfielder has struggled with injury issues and not managed to his way into the side. After a season of largely poor cameo appearances, he has shown signs of coming good in recent weeks, impressing against Tottenham and Nottingham Forest in particular.
Rating every player Newcastle United signed this season - strikers
Nick Woltemade - £69m from VfB Stuttgart: 5/10. He’s just hit double figures in his goal tally for the season, but at £69m, you’d expect a lot more bang for your buck. It all started so well, with four goals in five games - including one of the most audacious penalties the Premier League has ever seen.
A lengthy goal drought saw Howe appear to lose all faith in the club’s record signing, dropping him into an attacking midfield role, and then even deeper into midfield. At this rate, he’ll be in goal next season - he’s certainly tall enough. Now reduced to fleeting appearances off the bench, he’s thought to be among a number of players who could leave the club this summer.
Yoane Wissa - £55m from Brentford: 2/10. This signing could not have gone much worse. Like Woltemade, he arrived late in the summer transfer window as the club scrambled to replace Isak. He’s missed over 100 days of the season with a knee injury, and deeply underwhelmed in the games he has featured in, scoring a mere three goals.
Much like Elanga, the DR Congo international just doesn’t fit the system and it’s hard to see him remaining at St. James’ Park if he can’t adapt. Wissa was signed off the back of a 20-goal season with the Bees, and on paper signing a player with experience of excelling in the Premier League made perfect sense, but in hindsight the deal now looks to have been a rushed mistake.