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Stan Kroenke handed £263m Arsenal incentive to seize Newcastle’s first deal following takeover
Former Arsenal winger Marc Overmars could be Newcastle United’s first high-profile signing.
The Magpies are now the richest club in the Premier League, thanks to their stunning £305 million Saudi Arabian-backed takeover, and there are plans to make them a force to be reckoned with.
This is said to include Overmars, who has reportedly begun talks with Newcastle about taking on the role of director of football.
According to the Mirror, the Dutchman has been in contact with the Magpies since their takeover and is interested in leaving Ajax to secure a sensational return to the Premier League.
Furthermore, the report claims that Overmars has been told that he will be given the resources he needs to “awaken the sleeping giant” at Newcastle.
This, combined with the 48-year-outstanding old’s transfer market work, should serve as a warning to Arsenal, as owner Stan Kroenke may decide to intervene and bring him back to north London instead.
Football.london investigated Ajax’s transfer activity since 2012 under the former winger amid links to Overmars at the start of the year, and it made for interesting reading.
Establishing a solid structure of developing young players and then selling for a huge profit, this self-sustaining model has also helped to keep Ajax competitive with Europe’s elite, with a Europa League final and a Champions League semi-final in the last five years.
In recent years, Overmars has proven that he is the transfer guru that Arsenal requires by selling the likes of Donny van de Beek, Frenkie de Jong, Hakim Ziyech, Matthijs De Ligt, and Davinson Sanchez for a total of £263 million.
Overmars’ approach to the transfer market is astute and clearly effective, which should concern Arsenal, as Newcastle could benefit in the near future.
And that could spell trouble for the Gunners in terms of long-term competition for the Premier League title or even a place in the Champions League.
One major issue under the current regime, for example, is failing to maximize the value of players offloaded.
Mesut Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi, and Sokratis all left Arsenal without receiving a single penny despite the club spending £95.1 million to sign the trio.
While Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu can argue that those deals were necessary in order for the club to move forward and reduce its wage bill, the Gunners need to improve their player sales.
That is an area where Overmars could improve for Arsenal, providing Arteta with more funds to invest in his first-team squad and possibly bring back the glory days.
Overmars has previously expressed interest in returning to north London, as football.london exclusively revealed in 2019 that he wanted the role of director of football operations.
They chose to look elsewhere, however.
With Arsenal still struggling to master the art of the transfer market two years later, it may be worth Kroenke and the club’s decision-makers hijacking Newcastle’s plans to appoint one of the best directors of football in the world.
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Stan Kroenke handed £263m Arsenal incentive to seize Newcastle’s first deal following takeover
