The signing of Atlético de Madrid right-back Kieran Trippier will be just the first of many Newcastle promises in the European football winter transfer window.
With millions of euros at its disposal from Saudi Arabia, the club has the opportunity to hire expensive reinforcements, perhaps even current stars, and stay in the league. Premier League. Currently, the Magpies are in the relegation zone with only one victory after 19 rounds.
Trippier became the first reinforcement of the new era of Newcastle, a burden that can be difficult to carry, even more so if no more players arrive. That happened to the first signings of Chelsea, Manchester City and PSG.
The predecessors of the Newcastle In this “new rich life”, the two English and the French powerhouse today boast of having powerful teams and having some of the most desired footballers on the planet. But who led the way was not necessarily successful …
Here we invite you to remember the first reinforcement of Chelsea, PSG and Man City:
CHELSEA
Bought by eccentric Russian businessman Roman Abramovich in May 2003, the Chelsea It went from being a club that didn’t spend a penny the previous season to one that paid out 170 million euros in a matter of days.
The first signing was Glen Johnson, then 18-year-old right-back, who was in the West Ham. The Chelsea He saw potential in the boy and paid 8.3 million euros, hoping that the bet would become a benchmark in the new team.
But JohnsonDespite being summoned by England several times, he was still too young for that responsibility. An offensive winger, but lacking too much in definition, he played 71 times in three seasons before being loaned out and sold to Portsmouth.
Johnson, who would later play for him Liverpool, joined other names in the first transfer package of the Chelsea. Some as Claude Makélélé, Joe Cole y Damian Duff, marked a more successful stage with titles from the Premier League and local drinks, especially after the arrival of Jose Mourinho, in 2004.
Others like Hernán Crespo, Juan Sebastián Verón and Adrian MutuThey were expensive signings but they arrived already when they were veteran footballers. Wayne Bridge, Njitap Geremi, Aleksey Smertin, Neil Sullivan, Marco Ambrosio y Jürgen Macho were others hired by Abramovich in his first campaigns leading the Chelsea.
MANCHESTER CITY
The acquisition of Manchester City on the part of the Abu Dhabi United group was done in a hurry, which affected the ambitions of the reigning champions of the Premier League in your first window.
Interested in getting into English football, the sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan reached an agreement with the former owner of Citizens, Thaksin Shinawatra, hours before the close of the summer market.
After several transfer attempts, which even included a misleading proposal to Lionel Messi, the chosen one was Robinho, who wanted to leave the Real Madrid.
The relationship, however, was not the most successful. TO Robinho He was awarded jersey number 10 and got off to a good start, finishing the season with 15 goals in 41 games. But internal disagreements, with managers and colleagues, made the star force his exit and return to Santos, in January 2010, and never set foot in Manchester again.
They were very poor numbers for a player who cost 43 million euros, more than it would cost, for example, Sergio Aguero, the top scorer in the club’s history and undisputed idol, three years later.
PSG
Long before gathering stars like Messi, Mbappé and Neymar, the PSG It also made unsuccessful transfers after being acquired by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in June 2011.
In its first millionaire window, the Parisian club spent 87.1 million euros on nine players. The funny thing is that the first signing came as a free player.
Nicolás Douchez, aged 31, he had a modest career in France until he left the Rennes for him PSG without cost. It was five seasons, seven titles and 43 games until he ended his stay in the capital and moved to Lens.
Few remember Douchez, yet the PSG signed heavier names. In particular Javier Pastore, that cost them 42 million euros and spent seven years with the blue shirt.
They also signed Kévin Gameiro, Jéremy Ménez, Blaise Matuidi, Mohamed Sissoko, Milan Bisevac, Salvatore Sirigu y Diego Lugano. The biggest names were Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi y David Beckham, who arrived the following year.
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