Patrick Vieira has claimed that Newcastle United's transfer spend has enabled the Magpies to move 'faster' and build a team to get into the Champions League.
The Crystal Palace boss was speaking after his side held Newcastle to a goalless draw at Selhurst Park on a night where Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak all played. Newcastle have spent around £210m on signings such as these in the last 12 months as part of the Magpies' transformation from relegation candidates to serious top four contenders following years of underinvestment in the Ashley era.
However, there are no guarantees with such an outlay if you are not smart - you only have to look at Everton and Chelsea's struggles to realise that - and it is worth noting that eight of the 14 players who featured against Palace on Saturday were individuals Eddie Howe inherited. These include Fabian Schar, Sean Longstaff, Joelinton and Miguel Almiron, who have all been transformed by the Newcastle head coach and his staff.
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Far from aiming a dig at Newcastle, Vieira's comments felt more like a message to his own board after the Frenchman admitted in a separate interview with Sky Sports that Palace need 'a couple of players to help us to be more competitive', but 'everything' was in the 'chairman's hands'.
“When you spend millions, you move faster to where you want to be," he told reporters in his post-match press conference. "Of course, they are doing really well.
"They have a really strong team. That’s why I’m really pleased that we managed to get a point because they are competing with the top three, the top four, and the way they build the team is to be in the Champions League. For us, I’m really pleased with what we showed today and the point that we take.”
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