It feels like Newcastle United are coming towards the end of a cycle – but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

If the summer of 2024 taught Newcastle United fans one thing, it’s that players can still force their way out of the club despite the progress of the PIF era.

Convince me otherwise: Eddie Howe gave me my greatest day as a Newcastle fan but he has taken us as far as he can

DISCLAIMER: It’s not all his fault, chaos behind the scenes and PSR does not help 😡

He’ll always be a hero but everything comes to an end

Alexander Isak left and he’s been difficult to replace, there’s little doubt about that.

However, just because the likes of Anthony Gordon, Tino Livramento and Sandro Tonali have been tipped to follow him out of the door isn’t the end of the world.

Newcastle United should accept their place in the food chain – for now

Anyone who was on social media during the Isak saga would have heard so much about the “football food chain” as sections of the Liverpool fanbase online took great glee in Isak’s frankly heartbreaking attempts to force his way out of a club who loved him so dearly.

No one wants to hear that their place in the food chain is to be a selling club, particularly after Newcastle won the Carabao Cup and qualified for the Champions League again.

However, if the club’s place in that food chain is to sign players from abroad, develop them into a competitive team who can win domestic honours before selling them on for record sums, is that really that bad?

It may not be what was promised upon the PIF takeover, but it also doesn’t have to be the limit of Newcastle’s journey. Selling one big player a summer can help balance the books on the PSR front, allowing the club to continue to strengthen over the coming years.

Which player do you regret selling more – Elliot Anderson or Yankuba Minteh?

Thanks, PSR 😡

It does not mean there needs to be a fire sale. Gradual process is much better than the limbo Newcastle are currently in.

The issue isn’t that they sold Isak, it’s that they refused to accept he could leave and then duly struggled to replace him. Had they replaced him adequately, perhaps things could have played out very differently.

Though there’s no suggestion that the likes of Gordon, Tonali or Livramento would go to the extent that Isak went to, they have all been linked away.

Accepting players of such ilk will leave feels much healthier than the denial the club had all summer regarding their star striker. Newcastle caved and sold Isak at the last minute, which has helped positively nobody.

Players will come and go and while PIF have to prove their ambition to Newcastle fans, it doesn’t mean the project is over.