We wanted experience, Matthias Jaissle didn’t: Newcastle United late-window transfer decisions revealed
Newcastle United changed up the whole strategy this summer as prominent senior names left and were replaced by young, high potential assets.
That left a lot of us fans rather uncertain and leaning toward at least a bit of experience being brought through the door before the window closed. Instead, that didn’t happen which felt like a little bit of an oversight.
But, as the Chronicle revealed today, the reasons the club didn’t bring in an older head or two wasn’t because they failed to secure their targets, it was actually because Matthias Jaissle simply didn’t want them.
Jaissle trusting the youth
Towards the back end of the window, there were links to players who could come in and be that experienced head, with the club even entering negotiations for Pierre Emile Hojbjerg.
There were some reservations about whether the Dane was the right player for the job, though, and Jaissle clearly shared that sentiment as, after the deal ultimately fell through, the German impressed those in the hierarchy with his willingness to adhere to the strategy of signing younger talent.
That saw the Magpies instead pursue much more fruitful deals for the likes of 24-year-old Nico Gonzalez, who ended up acting as the Bruno Guimaraes replacement.
Jaissle’s outlook on the transfer window, especially considering he could quite easily have demanded some experience given the squad at his disposal when he joined, clearly reinforces the decision to appoint him as the manager for this new era.
In Jaissle we must trust
It was very easy to look at the squad upon the close of the window and feel a little concerned about how it was shaping up.
But, with the knowledge that Matthias Jaissle chose this direction despite the chaos he entered when appointed, that does give some reassurance that the current squad deserves our belief.
It also shows us that Jaissle believes in his ability to coach these young players into something good for Newcastle United which, with his record of previous clubs like RB Salzburg and developing players, feels like something we shouldn’t really be doubting.
The fact that the German was so willing to throw himself in at the deep end after succeeding a manager who had reservations about how he’d cope under similar circumstances not only bodes well for how he will fare as manager, but also provides a strong reassurance that the club did their due diligence when appointing him as a replacement and genuinely picked someone who understands the sort of project the Magpies are trying to build.
Whether his decision to not invest in a little bit of extra wisdom will come back to bite him is yet to be seen, and we have seen some glimpses of naivety thus far. But we always knew there would be bumps in the road, the club knows that too and, with every bit of information that comes out about how Jaissle went about navigating a tricky end to the window, it gives more and more reasons to put faith in his ability to lead Newcastle United into this next chapter.
