Michael Owen's ill-fated £16m move from Real Madrid was a Newcastle United record signing for 14 years, but that signing no longer even ranks in the club's top ten.
The inflation in transfer fees couples with renewed investment in the club by the Saudi Public Investment Fund means Newcastle United's list of record transfers is heavily weighted towards more recent years.
No surprise that they have already fulfilled their ambitions of getting back into the Champions League, then - though the challenge now is to start qualifying with regularity.
Who is Newcastle United's most expensive ever signing?
Alexander Isak set Newcastle's club record when he joined from Spanish side Real Sociedad in August 2022, with his fee reportedly sitting around the £63m mark.
The forward has proven to be a solid investment, despite an injury-hit first season at the club, helping them to earn Champions League qualification in his first campaign and then hitting 21 Premier League goals in his second season at St James' Park. He is ranked at no.7 in FourFourTwo's list of the best strikers in the world right now.
Who held the Newcastle United transfer record before Alexander Isak?
Joelinton arrived for £40m in July 2019 from Hoffenheim. That was double the amount the club had paid for their previous record signing, Miguel Almiron, six months earlier.
The January 2022 signing of Bruno Guimaraes equalled Joelinton's record, with the midfielder joining from Lyon. He, too, has been money well spent: he ranks at no.3 in FourFourTwo's list of the best defensive midfielders in the world right now
2023 signings Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon both cost a little bit more than Bruno and Joelinton, but by then Newcastle had already signed Isak so neither the AC Milan midfielder nor the Everton winger set new Newcastle records upon their arrival.
The two Joes - Willock and Joelinton - are the only players among Newcastle's top ten highest transfer fees who arrived prior to the club's Saudi takeover going through in October 2021.
Chris Wood is the first and so far only member of the top ten to have since left the club: he joined Nottingham Forest on an initial loan in January 2023 before making the move permanent that summer.
Newcastle United's top ten most expensive players of all time
| Player | Fee | Year | Signed from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Isak | £63m | 2022 | Real Sociedad |
| Sandro Tonali | £55m | 2023 | AC Milan |
| Anthony Gordon | £45m | 2023 | Everton |
| Bruno Guimaraes | £40m | 2022 | Lyon |
| Joelinton | £40m | 2019 | Hoffenheim |
| Harvey Barnes | £38m | 2023 | Leicester City |
| Tino Livramento | £35m | 2023 | Southampton |
| Sven Botman | £35m | 2022 | Lille |
| Lewis Hall | £28m | 2024 | Chelsea |
| Chris Wood | £25m | 2022 | Burnley |
| Joe Willock | £25m | 2021 | Arsenal |
