Newcastle United defender Javier Manquillo has become one of the first players to speak publicly about the club’s recent takeover.
Nearly two weeks ago, it was confirmed that a Saudi-backed consortium had successfully agreed to takeover the Northern club from former owner Mike Ashley.
The stunning takeover, understood to have cost within the region of £300m, has now propelled the Magpies into the financial stratosphere.
With the club’s new majority owner and cash-rich Saudi Prince Mohammad Bin Salman boasting a staggering net worth, the Premier League side is now comfortably the world’s richest club.
Despite the exciting times that await the club, several key changes are expected to follow, one of which being a change of manager that would see current boss Steve Bruce relieved of his duties.
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However, addressing the recent change of hierarchy, full-back Manquillo has spoken openly about how resilient the club is when it comes to criticism.
“I understand that this operation will arouse antipathy or hatred,” Manquillo told the Telegraph. “But we are not going to stop enjoying this period because of this.
“We are all professionals, Steve the first,” he says. “He knows that the situation is not easy and even more so now that there is talk of his dismissal, but we are not getting carried away by the rumours.
“He’s working normally, he wants to start to get back on track and we’ll see what happens in the end,” the Spaniard adds. “I have read that there is talk of Gerrard and Lampard, but our manager now is Steve Bruce and we support him without hesitation.”
With the Magpies now boasting incredible wealth, a string of major signings is expected to arrive at St James’ Park over the course of the next few transfer windows.
Going on to address his employer’s affluent plans, Manquillo has admitted that if it were up to him, he would be pursuing some of football’s biggest attacking talents.
“If you ask me who I’d sign for Newcastle, I’d go for [Kylian] Mbappe and I’d go for [Erling] Haaland,” the defender added. “If it was a PlayStation team I’d also go for Messi and Cristiano, but the youngsters who stand out the most right now are those two.”
Despite his public admission, it is very unlikely that fans will see the likes of Mbappe and Haaland arrive in the North of England anytime soon.
However, in an attempt to first avoid relegation but then to kick start their new era, Newcastle United have been linked with making January swoops for several highly-rated players, including Manchester United’s Antony Martial (Stretty News) and Burnley defender James Tarkowski (Telegraph).
Who do you think will be the club’s first major signing? – Let us know in the comments.