Sporting director Paul Mitchell has left Newcastle United after less than a year in the role having failed to make a single signing for Eddie Howe’s first-team.
The whole saga now looks like it was always going to fail, despite the 43-year-old having a great reputation upon joining.
Having signed on the recommendation of Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales, Paul Mitchell went about implementing his own transfer plan at the club, with his thought process being to sign younger players who can be developed by Eddie Howe.
Sadly, that was barely the case, as Mitchell failed to make any first-team signings aside from William Osula, who was a recommendation from assistant manager Jason Tindall. It looks even worse when fans realise Mitchell had the chance to sign Marc Guehi for Newcastle during the 2024 summer transfer window, but ended up getting frustrated at his failed pursuit.
Now, a new report has shared shocking information about another deal that Newcastle missed out on to their historic rivals, Manchester United. It has proven to be a major missed opportunity.
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty ImagesNewcastle United missed out on signing Ayden Heaven to Manchester United
The January transfer window was also considered a disaster by many Newcastle fans after Mitchell failed to make any signings while selling the likes of Lloyd Kelly and Miguel Almiron, who were considered useful squad players at the time.
Newcastle missed out on Abdukodir Khusanov to Manchester City, despite being the favourites to sign him from RC Lens at the time. PSR was a catalyst for the failed move, but fans were still furious at how the deal collapsed.
Now, it has been revealed by the Athletic that Newcastle were in talks for 18-year-old defender Ayden Heaven before he completed his £1.5m move to Manchester United. The report states that Newcastle offered a “more attractive package” to Heaven, and may have even offered double the money that Man United were offering, but the youngster ended up moving to Old Trafford instead.
Jason Willcox, Man United’s director of football, persuaded Heaven to sign by giving assurances that he would settle quickly in their environment and would be fast-tracked into a first-team role under Ruben Amorim.
The offer was clearly too good to refuse, and he has since become a bright spark in a Man United side that has been dismal at times.
Paul Mitchell’s negotiation skills worked at Newcastle United despite the Ayden Heaven saga
While Mitchell’s 12 months on Tyneside will be seen as disastrous by many, he was still able to do some clever business for the club.
A lot of his focus appeared to be on the academy, with promising young players like Kyle Fitzgerald and Baran Yildiz joining Newcastle during the January transfer window. Those two deals have proven to be successful so far, with the pair hitting the ground running in their new environment.
Additionally, Antonio Cordero rejected Barcelona for Newcastle and is expected to be a hit at the club after a promising season with Segunda Division side Malaga.
Cordero will be loaned out for his first season at Newcastle, with reports suggesting that he will sign for Eredivisie side Ajax. It is a big step up in quality, but one that Cordero will surely be ready for.