It’s been 12 years since Newcastle United set a club transfer record with the £16m purchase of Michael Owen from Real Madrid but the man who set that record believes changes are on the horizon.
The Magpies have been reluctant to spend astronomical amounts of money during the past decade, despite seeing a rise in the average cost of players, but Owen predicts that the imminent takeover will lead to a new dawn.
Georginio Wijnaldum’s £14.5m capture from PSV Eindhoven is the closest Newcastle have come to beating Owen’s record but the former England international doesn’t expect to remain as the club’s all-time record signing for much longer.
When asked by The Chronicle if he’s see his record being broken in the next few windows, the former striker said:
“In this day and age – yes. My transfer fee looks pretty small compared to what people are going for nowadays. I would be very surprised if that record isn’t broken in the next window or two.”
“I will be surprised if I still have that honour! Football is changing by the year. I thought I was in the game at a good time when football couldn’t peak anymore in terms of popularity.”
“But it’s just going through the roof year on year. And that record will certainly be beaten very, very soon.”
Newcastle fans will hope to see changes made in January, particularly with the club struggling to find a consistent force in front of goal, but it may all depend on whether a takeover goes through before Mike Ashley’s Christmas target.
