PIF were rinsed by "lost" Newcastle signing who earned more than Wilson
PIF were rinsed by “lost” Newcastle signing who earned more than Wilson
Newcastle United have invested heavily following the takeover by the Saudi PIF in late 2021, with the owners desperately needing to improve the squad to be competitive in the Premier League.
Before the acquisition, the Magpies were constantly battling relegation under Steve Bruce, with the club looking likely to return to the Championship under his leadership.
However, at the time, Bruce was given a tough task by former owner Mike Ashley, aiming to secure their top-flight status and doing so with next to no investment in his squad.
It’s no surprise to see the Magpies thriving following the £400m investment by the PIF, with the club looking in a much healthier state under Eddie Howe and the owner’s guidance.
However, despite the huge influx of additions, one player who was tasked with keeping the club in the Premier League turned out to be a huge waste of money, with the club potentially living to regret his signing back in 2022.
Chris Wood’s stats at Newcastle
In an attempt to further strengthen their grip on maintaining top-flight survival in the 2021/22 season, Newcastle paid a staggering £25m to sign Chris Wood from fellow Premier League side Burnley in January.
He arrived as a proven scorer in England’s top division, with a tally of 49 goals in 144 league appearances for the Clarets, but could only muster up two goals in 17 matches for the Magpies during the second half of the 2021/22 campaign.
Wood would spend the first half of the 2022/23 season with Newcastle and again struggled to make a huge impact, scoring just two goals in 18 matches, a tally that would prompt a departure from St James’ Park just a year after his arrival.
Howe then decided to part ways with the 32-year-old – who was described as a “bit lost” at the time by pundit Tam McManus – in January by loaning him to Nottingham Forest, in an attempt to recoup some of the hefty fee spent on the New Zealand international.
The deal for the striker would become permanent when he was named in just three matchday squads at the City Ground, with the Magpies receiving £15m for the centre-forward – making a £10m loss in just 12 months on Wood.
However, taking a loss on the forward wasn’t the end of the world for Howe’s side, with the club able to shift his huge weekly wage off the bill on Tyneside.
Chris Wood’s wage during his time at Newcastle
Upon his arrival at Newcastle, the striker signed a two-and-a-half-year deal, on a reported £80k-per-week, as per Capology – a figure that made him one of the best-paid players at the club.
During his year on Tyneside, he pocketed £4.1m in wages alone, which when coupled with his transfer fee saw the club pay £29.1m for his services – a bonkers figure given his lack of output in front of goal.
His extortionate weekly wage is almost double that of fellow striker Callum Wilson, who only earns £46k-per-week, despite being the club’s second-highest goalscorer in Premier League history behind Alan Shearer.
If the New Zealand international remained at the club this season, he would be the club’s sixth-highest earner behind the likes of Matt Targett and Alexander Isak, with the club making the right decision in offloading him last winter.
Whilst he’s managed 12 goals in the Premier League this season, his time at Newcastle wasn’t good enough to justify his weekly wage, with the club able to save a seismic chunk each year in the battle against the Premier League’s FFP rules.
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The club conducted excellent business in offloading him from St James’ Park.