In recent years, when Newcastle have broken their transfer record, excitement has eventually given way to denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
On top of that, Newcastle United fans have had long, long waits between the spending record being broken, which has only added to the disappointment.
But go back a little further, and there was a purple patch when the record was broken frequently, and the rate of getting it right was pretty good. These are the 10 most recent times it was broken, up to today at least:
Joelinton, £40m
No need to belabour this, but when Joelinton arrived in 2019 as a £40m number nine he was described by Steve Bruce as having “all the attributes a top striker needs”, which left a few of us scratching our heads, because he didn’t look like a £40m striker. But that's in the past, because it turns out he's a really good midfielder.
Miguel Almiron, £20m
Nobody ever knows exactly how much a transfer fee is, but in 2019 it was reported that Newcastle United paid £16m for the Paraguayan Almiron, possibly rising to £21m. His signing broke the club’s record after it had been intact for 13 years, slightly ridiculously. When asked how it felt to be the club's record signing he said it was an “honour”.
Michael Owen, £16m
In 2005, the bosses at Newcastle got Real Madrid on the phone and decided to try and bring Owen to St James’ Park. To do that they publicly said it would be a record fee before the player even agreed to sign. He did sign, but everyone knew he wanted to be elsewhere, and he seemed slightly past his best.
Alan Shearer, £15m
If the three most recent record-breaking fees didn’t deliver the expected bang for the buck, this one did. In 1996 it broke the club’s transfer record and broke the world’s transfer record, but more than that it brought goals and passion. As Kevin Keegan said: “This signing is for the people of Newcastle.”
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Faustino Asprilla, £7m
In January 1996, Newcastle manager Keegan flew out to Italy to persuade Tino, a player most fans had never heard of, to move to northern England. After a long negotiation with Parma, Keegan's usual magic worked. Asprilla said: “I'm about to start on a fascinating adventure.” He wasn’t wrong.
Les Ferdinand, £6m
When Keegan broke the club’s spending record, he knew what he was doing, which is why the club's owners allowed him to do it for the second time in a week when he signed Les Ferdinand from QPR in 1995. Ferdinand came in and brought exactly what Keegan had paid so much money for: goals.
Warren Barton, £4.5m
The week Keegan signed Ferdinand he also signed 26-year-old Barton from Wimbledon, making him the most expensive defender in Britain, and he was worth it. Keegan said: “I think he's a future leader, not just of this club but maybe all the way to the top with England.”
Darren Peacock, £2.7m
A lot is made of Keegan’s attacking bias, but importantly he splashed out on defenders too. When he signed centre-back Peacock from QPR in 1994, it was the club’s record fee and equalled the British record for a defender, matching what Sheffield Wednesday paid Sampdoria for Des Walker.
Ruel Fox, £2.2m
The previous month Keegan also broke the club’s signing record by buying winger Ruel Fox from Norwich City. The deal was made possible using some of the cash from selling Kevin Scott to Spurs for £850,000. Keegan said: “It's an awful lot of money but Ruel's worth every penny.”
Andy Cole, £1.8m
One of the early deals that made Newcastle fans realise something big might be about to happen: Cole arrived on a club record fee from Bristol City in a week when Keegan spent £3m. Keegan told the press: “It's a privilege to be at the front of a club which is so ambitious and so different from the one I played for 10 years ago. This is probably the most important signing we have made.”
