Newcastle’s 10 best transfers of all time

FT Desk

• 24 Mar 2026 11:00 CDT
• 13 min read

Analysis

Newcastle United are, on paper at least, the richest club in world football after being bought by a consortium led by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia in October 2021.

The Magpies became one of the biggest spenders in world football immediately after the PIF takeover, but financial regulations have since prevented the St. James' Park club from continuing to splash the cash.

As a result, the takeover has been somewhat underwhelming, but it did end Newcastle's 70-year trophy drought when they beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final in 2025.

Back in the 1990s, Newcastle ran Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United close to the Premier League title more than once, and not all of their best new signings come from the recent Saudi era.

From clever picks on a shoestring budget to blockbuster arrivals today in the early 2020s, FootballTransfers looks at the 10 best signings in Newcastle's history...

Demba Ba - €800,000 from West Ham, 2011

Demba Ba had shown some glimpses of his talent at West Ham, but the London club allowed him to leave for Newcastle for a minuscule €800,000 in the summer of 2011.

The Senegalese star buried 16 Premier League goals in his first season on Tyneside, guiding Newcastle to sixth place in the table and into Europe for the following campaign.

An even better start to the 2012/13 season saw him score 13 goals from just 20 matches, earning him a £7.5m move to Chelsea in January 2013, handing Newcastle a significant profit.

Ba never quite hit the same heights at Chelsea, though, and left 18 months later, playing out the rest of his career in Turkey and China.

Allan Saint-Maximin - €18m from Nice, 2019

For just over half the amount of money they recouped from Ayoze Perez’s sale to Leicester in 2019, Newcastle brought flashy Frenchman Allan Saint-Maximin in from Nice.

Well known for his Gucci bandanas and supreme skill, Saint-Maximin arrived in England with a great deal of excitement, and he certainly delivered in the famous black and white.

Saint-Maximin was a shining light for Newcastle with his high-energy displays, becoming one of the best dribblers in the division and leaving fans on the edge of their seats whenever he got on the ball.

Newcastle turned a handsome profit on the tricky winger when he left for Al-Ahli for €27.2m in 2023.

Yohan Cabaye - €5m from Lille, 2011

Alan Pardew loved signing a Frenchman at Newcastle, and arguably the best one that he snared was Yohan Cabaye, signing him for a bargain €5m in 2011.

Having been in the remarkable Lille ensemble that won the French League and Cup double with a certain Eden Hazard in their side the season prior, Cabaye carried his class into the Premier League with Newcastle.

An opening season haul of eight assists from midfield immediately caught the eye, and he went on to rack up 17 goals and 13 assists in three English top-flight seasons.

Newcastle were ultimately unable to hold onto him when PSG came knocking in 2013, sealing a €25m deal, but Pardew would bring him back to England in 2015 with Crystal Palace.

Hatem Ben Arfa - €6m from Marseille, 2011

After initially joining from Marseille on loan in the summer of 2010, Hatem Ben Arfa signed permanently for Newcastle in January 2011 for around €6m.

Over the course of three-and-a-half seasons, Ben Arfa became one of the most exciting players to watch in the English game.

His dazzling footwork and daring skills, put together with a wand of a left boot, mesmerised the Geordie crowd, with a particularly incredible solo goal against Bolton Wanderers in 2012.

Unfortunately for him, for Newcastle and indeed for all Premier League neutrals, the Frenchman was unable to realise his full potential and left the Magpies on a free transfer in 2015.

Behavioural issues plagued his career, and despite a remarkable season at Nice earning him a move to PSG, he never quite managed to fulfil his potential.

Papiss Demba Cisse - €12m from Freiburg, 2012

Papiss Demba Cisse signed for Newcastle from Freiburg in January 2012, creating one of the most memorable strike partnerships alongside Ba.

The Senegalese teammates were electric for Newcastle, and Cisse led the way with an incredible 13 goals in 14 games after he joined, the most memorable of which was the jaw-dropping half-volley at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.

Unfortunately for Newcastle and Cisse, he failed to match that haul in any of the next four seasons.

The Magpies were still able to sell him for a respectable fee to Chinese club Shandong Taishan, and he left with many a memory from that delightful six-month period in particular.

Les Ferdinand - €9.5m from QPR, 1995

Andy Cole’s replacement in 1995 was Les Ferdinand, joining from QPR for around €9.5m the summer after United snatched Cole from St. James’ Park.

Ferdinand had been fantastic for the Hoops, scoring 60 goals in three Premier League seasons, and carried that form into his first campaign at Newcastle, hitting the back of the net 25 times.

He added another 16 in the following campaign before being poached by Tottenham Hotspur for an identical fee to that which Newcastle had bought him for.

The sale turned out to be a good deal for the Geordie outfit as Ferdinand never found the same form for the remainder of his career, while the Magpies already had their replacement waiting in the wings...

Kieran Trippier - €14m from Atletico Madrid, 2022

Kieran Trippier was among the first new recruits for Eddie Howe during his first transfer window. He was brought for his reliability and experience, but no one expected the impact he would make on the side.

In the 2022/23 season, Trippier was selected in the Premier League Team of the Season. His displays always hit the high notes, while his leadership and positional awareness made him one of Newcastle's most important players in the early stages of the PIF era.

Despite flirting with a transfer away on more than one occasion, the veteran full-back would stay long enough to witness the Carabao Cup victory.

Bruno Guimaraes - €42.1m from Lyon, 2022

A first statement signing from the PIF, Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes snubbed European heavyweights to move from Lyon to Newcastle in 2022.

It proved to be a spectacular transfer. At St. James' Park, Guimaraes developed into one of the Premier League's best midfielders and one of the captains of the team.

He was crucial as the Magpies ended their decades-long wait for silverware when he delivered the Carabao Cup in 2025.

Alexander Isak - €77.5m from Real Sociedad, 2022

The PIF made former Swedish wonderkid Alexander Isak the club's erstwhile record signing when they poached him from Real Sociedad for €77.5 million in 2022.

Having failed at Borussia Dortmund, Isak was keen to show that he had developed into one of Europe's best after all. And he did just that, establishing himself as one of English football's most well-rounded forwards.

After scoring 62 goals in 109 appearances - including the winner in the 2025 Carabao Cup final - the striker completed a Premier League-record €145m transfer to Liverpool in the summer of 2025.

Andy Cole - €2.7m from Bristol City, 1993

Andy Cole was allowed to leave Arsenal’s youth ranks for next to nothing to join Bristol City in 1992, and one year later, he moved on to Newcastle for around €2.7m.

The Englishman exploded into life in his first Premier League season, hitting a remarkable 34 goals - still a single-season record - while also providing 13 assists in 40 games in total.

Despite a slower start to the following season, Man Utd were interested in the striker and picked him up in January 1995, making Newcastle a profit of almost four times the amount they paid for him.

Cole went on to be a star in Ferguson’s dominant United side and held the second-best Premier League goal tally for a long time before he was overtaken by Wayne Rooney.

Alan Shearer - €18m from Blackburn Rovers, 1996

That Ferdinand replacement mentioned earlier was, of course, Alan Shearer. Newcastle’s conveyor belt of outstanding striker signings in the 1990s culminated with arguably the best the league has ever seen.

Shearer had won the Premier League title with Blackburn Rovers in 1995 and equalled Cole’s record of 34 goals in a single season before moving to Newcastle for €18m.

He would become a club legend and remains one to this day, scoring over 200 goals in all competitions and only failing to reach double figures in the league once... when he was 35 years of age.

Shearer still comfortably holds the record for the most Premier League goals with 260 and was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in April 2021.

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