Cast your mind back to the days of adding a new manager of a club with money, signing your worst player for every last penny the club has got just so you can go on a spending spree signing all your favourite players from around the globe, well Newcastle’s new owners have cut out the middlemen and are likely to be one of the most popular Beta, if not main save, teams to manage in Football Manager 2022 so we thought we would take a look at what to expect when you start your career as Steve Bruce’s successor.
Looking at the squad you inherit there not many players that you would realistically keep with your new found wealth, we have identified Martin Dubravka, Jamaal Lascelles, Jamal Lewis, new signing Joe Willock, Allan Saint-Maximin, Callum Wilson & the Longstaff brothers as the players we would realistically keep in the squad which means there are six first team slots that need to be filled before you start looking for backups.
Now the Ultimate Team players amongst you would love to be signing Mbappe, Kane or Haaland but in reality the takeover and the wealth won’t instantly increase the desire to play for Newcastle United so we’ll aim to be realistic with a dose of hope & dreams.
We start at right back with Ajax’s Noussair Mazraoui who you know will have fantastic fundamentals having come through the famous Ajax academy, he’s got well rounded attributes for a progressive wing-back that are likely to develop as your side grows in stature. Another alternative is Newcastle old-boy, Kevin Mbabu who you should be able to pick up from Wolfsburg for a reasonable fee, he’ll slot straight into the side & at 26 probably won’t develop much more.
At centre back there are a number of options available, however, Matthias Ginter’s contract expires at the end of the season so you could pick him up on the cheap saving some of the gold for those creative positions up top. If Ginter isn’t doing it for you, what about Lisandro Martinez from Ajax? He’s a versatile defensive player who has proven his worth in the Dutch league and is ready to make the step across the water to the Premier League. If you really want to splash the cash, what about a partnership of Nikola Milenkovic & Kalidou Koulibaly, you’ll probably looking in the region of £90m for the pair, but there won’t be many defensive partnerships in the league than those two!
The left back position is very subjective, I like to have an attacking full back that’s quick and can cross so my first pick is Renan Lodi from Atletico Madrid. The Covid-19 pandemic hit Spain hard so there’s a chance that you’ll get real value from Atleti. Another potential signing could be set-piece wizard, Borna Barisic, from Rangers. If you’re building a squad and want to focus on set-pieces then Barisic is a no brainer, just look at those attributes!
In holding midfield I’ve picked two Football Manager cult figures, William Carvalho & Wilmar Barrios. Both players enjoy the defensive side of the game, Carvalho is probably more a recycler of possession whereas Barrios will snap at an opponents heals to win the ball back for his team.
For the central midfield positions I’ve looked towards Weston McKennie & Renato Sanches, a perfect combination of a box-to-box midfielder and a deep lying playmaker who is equally adept at pushing forward in the Mezzala role.
I think we’d all agree the Allan Saint-Maximin will remain in your first team, so to compliment him on the other flank I’ve looked at Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen. Speed, agility and flair combined with a left foot just scream left sided ASM to me. When I was writing my notes for this another name cropped up that might be worth a punt, Philippe Coutinho. You’ve probably heard that Barcelona are in a bit of financial ruin… and Newcastle have just had a windfall so there could be a deal to be done there.
When it came to strikers there was only one name on my shortlist, Victor Osimhen, the Nigerian frontman has been impressive in previous games & with Napoli’s financial position you might negotiate yourself a worthwhile transfer figure. Imagine it, FM goal scoring supremo, Callum Wilson, partnered with FM goal scoring supremo, Victor Osimhen….
I will caveat the list with the unwritten rule in football that you don’t want to mix it all up in the first window, four or five players is really the max you want to be bringing in to your first eleven so you can get the squad dynamic going. Manchester City’s first window under Sheik Mansour saw Robinho, Jo, Nigel de Jong, Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Shay Given, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany & Tal Ben Haim come in, one star player complimented by some real solid workers and an unpolished gem in Kompany were the bedrock in Manchester City’s stepping stone to where they are now.
There’s also the infrastructure to think about, yes, I know it’s boring but Newcastle have average Training, average Youth Facilities, adequate Junior Coaching & average Youth Recruitment so there’s money to be spent building for your future.
Shall we continue down the boring route? If we really want to be realistic for January’s transfer window it could look a little something like this; Dean Henderson, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, Callum Chambers, Saed Kolasinac, Nemanja Matic, Ross Barkley, Takumi Minamino, Jesse Lingard & Anthony Martial! They are still signings that better the squad, but I know you’ll be aiming for better.
Enjoy the beta and be sure to let us know who you’ve signed in the comment section or on Twitter @5StarPod and Instagram @5StarPod