NEWCASTLE UNITED’S STRENGTH in depth is now such that a squad beset by injury, missing over €100 million of new signings, could still field five players in their starting XI against PSG that cost their Saudi owners a combined €209m since the 2021 takeover.
The absence of their marquee summer arrival, the €64m midfielder Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, due to a suspension for gambling offences, only compounded matters for head coach Eddie Howe.
Just bear that total of €383 million in mind the next time you hear how the Saudi operation has actually been an exercise in careful frugality.
The comparisons between how Newcastle and Manchester United are managed – on and off the pitch – will naturally be examined ahead of a fixture tonight that feels as though it is growing in importance.
Newcastle have been praised for spending wisely rather than lavishly, a respectful kind of sports washing done in a considered, understated manner rather than the in-your-face nature of those who blazed a trail.
The Saudis have learned from the sins of those who came before, with their Robinhos and their Mutus, and eased themselves in by splurging on your Gordons and Trippiers.
The impact has naturally galvanised the fanbase. Geordies (backed by Saudi) against a world that paid little attention to them while they suffered under the stewardship of Mike Ashley and felt destined to rot in the shadows.
Even Ant and Dec are now doing their bit for Nigel Farage’s image on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!
When they were on the brink of Champions League qualification last season, Howe was adamant that Newcastle wouldn’t be going wild in the transfer market despite an additional €90m in prize money set to come their way for taking part in Europe’s premier club competition.
Although the level of officiating in Paris on Tuesday night didn’t feel elite. “Do me a fucking favour man. What a load of shit. #VAR,” record goal scorer Alan Shearer wrote on social media.
Howe, of course, is always far more considered, the perfect poster boy in banality for the sporting arm of an oppressive regime.
“Regardless of what happens, we’re not going to have a bottomless pit,” he said when they were on the cusp of Champions League qualification last May.
“We will be under tight constraints. Whatever we do in the transfer market, we’re going to have to be very smart. In the three transfer windows I’ve had, we’ve been excellent, and we have to continue that.”
Reaching the Champions League was important in more ways than just attracting new players.
It also meant the new primary shirt sponsorship deal worth £25m per year with Sela, Saudi Arabia’s “leading events company”, would stand up to the Premier League’s recently-introduced panel for assessing fair market value of commercial partnerships.
While they were in the doldrums, Newcastle’s were paid £6.5m by an online Chinese gambling company that felt far more on brand within the Premier League.
Sela are owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which holds an 80% stake in Newcastle, and it would appear that the club (whose away kit is now white and green) are keen on getting a foothold in the region with a targeted commercial drive that also saw Saudi Arabia’s national airline become an official partner.
“Our ambition is to become the most supported English Premier League football team in Saudi Arabia; a country whose population includes a large, young, passionate and highly engaged football community.
“We are delighted to partner with SAUDIA as our official tour airline partner,” Newcastle’s Chief Commercial Officer Peter Silverstone beamed.
When questioned about the human rights record of Saudi Arabia, Howe has carefully avoided the issue.
“From my perspective – and I’ve always maintained this – my specialist subject is football. It’s what I know, it’s what I’ve trained to do,” he said last year.
“As soon as I deviate from that into an area where I don’t feel qualified to have a huge opinion, I think I go into dangerous ground, so I prefer to stick to what I believe I know.”
That is football and the work he has done as a coach has been impressive to a point.
Given how everything at St James’ Park is now so carefully crafted and manufactured, they still go into tonight’s game with United trailing Erik ten Hag’s side by a point.
Given the chaotic nature of life there, Howe cannot afford for what he knows best to start letting him down now.
Even Newcastle, now the most reasoned and sensible Premier League operators, don’t have owners who will stand for that.
