Patience is the word from Newcastle United, but how long can they actually wait for Aladji Bamba

Newcastle United had a turbulent summer; that is no secret. Big players left and a change of model saw a host of younger ones come in as the Magpies switched their focus to developing talent.

That saw £260m spent on eight incomings; among those tasked with guiding Newcastle into their 2.0 phase and beyond was Aladji Bamba. But the Frenchman has only played 26 minutes of football since his arrival on Tyneside and didn’t even make the matchday squad against Fulham.

Bamba cost Newcastle a rather hefty sum of £30m, a lot of money in the modern era of financial rules and nothing like the £10-15m spent on a project player like that of Will Osula previously and, while the club continue to cry ‘patience’, a question is beginning to arise about just how long Newcastle can afford to wait before giving him a real chance to shine.

The thing that really underpins this whole conversation is that £30m price tag because, as much as Newcastle are well aware that there will be some misses under this new model, for a player commanding that fee in the very first transfer window of the new recruitment style, the room for error feels smaller.

The Magpies are yet to establish a pipeline of talent they can develop into world class players or sell on for more money, meaning there is a much greater need to get these transfers right than there will be five years down the line.

That alone makes that £30m much more valuable to Newcastle United and it could turn out to be the sort of money that actually stalls the entire project later down the line if they can’t turn it into profit or the player into a progressive asset.

Now it would be silly to sit here and suggest everybody should start to panic about the fact that Bamba is yet to become a valued member of the squad, after all he is still only 20 years old with just 28 senior appearances to his name.

But something must be said about the fact that the Magpies can’t wait forever for a player to be ready as they risk losing any chance of a positive return on their investment.

Similarly, if Bamba is never given a chance to prove his worth, and is judged purely off training sessions, then how do the club expect him to develop into the player they believe he can be?

You could argue, for example, that the Magpies could send Bamba out on loan if they don’t feel he is ready. That way, you almost get the benefit of both worlds. But that possibility has been rubbished pretty quickly in multiple reports, suggesting there is a desire to keep the Frenchman at the club.

That feels like a rather strange decision if there is a consensus that he isn’t ready and, if they are so adamant he should stay on Tyneside, it makes the questions around patience even more pertinent.

It’s also worth noting that this isn’t any slight on Bamba himself. In fact, if the current state of affairs is anything to go by, the Frenchman at least deserves a chance to get some substantial minutes under his belt. It’s not like it can do any harm, is it?

Bamba has been reportedly working and training independently, with the midfielder spotted doing a solo session with a Newcastle coach at a Goals destination not too long ago. He clearly has the desire to succeed and what we have seen so far, mainly in preseason, would suggest he definitely has bags of potential ready to be coaxed out of him.

And so, Bamba’s situation actually presents itself as a double-edged ‘patience’ inspired sword.

The club, coaches, and those involved in player development can all preach about needing to give Bamba time and to a certain extent that is an agreeable viewpoint to take. We are talking about an inexperienced 20-year-old trying to learn an entirely new culture and league on the fly, after all.

But, from the outside looking in, it’s hard to really get a grasp of when that patience will reach the end of its tether for both Newcastle United as a business and as a football team trying to haul themselves from the current rut of poor performances.

Because, to put it quite plainly, Newcastle United cannot wait forever and will have to make a decision on Bamba one way or another in the near future, perhaps more to protect their investment than anything else.