Newcastle sold Tonali, Guimaraes and Gordon, and gave the No 6 shirt to a 24-year-old from Manchester City
Nico Gonzalez is Newcastle’s seventh signing of a summer spent replacing people. He cost around £50 million and inherits a shirt number with recent history.
Aug 28, 2026
Newcastle United have signed Nico Gonzalez from Manchester City in a deal reported at around £50 million, and given the 24-year-old the No 6 shirt. He arrives at a club that has spent this summer selling the midfield it spent three years building.
The selling came first
Sandro Tonali left for Tottenham in July for £100 million, a Tottenham club record and the second-biggest fee Newcastle have ever received. Bruno Guimaraes, the captain who lifted the League Cup in 2025, completed a £75 million move to Arsenal on 8 August. Anthony Gordon had already gone to Barcelona. Eddie Howe, who built that team, walked away at the end of July.
Newcastle have not stood still. Aladji Bamba arrived from Monaco in July, Bazoumana Toure came in to replace Gordon, and Amar Dedic signed on 18 August. Gonzalez is the seventh signing of the summer and the second under Matthias Jaissle.
What Newcastle are actually buying
Gonzalez came through at Barcelona, made his name at Porto and moved to Manchester City in February 2025, when Rodri’s cruciate injury left Pep Guardiola without a holding midfielder. Guardiola took to calling him a mini-Rodri. City paid roughly what Newcastle have now paid, and eighteen months brought 59 appearances and four goals.
That is a fair return for a player whose job is to break things up rather than finish them, and a thin one for a fee in this range. He has played for Spain at under-21 level. Ross Wilson, Newcastle’s sporting director, said the club had worked on the deal patiently for weeks and that Gonzalez was the one they wanted.
Jaissle’s first three weeks
The new head coach has had one league game and one cup tie, and both told the same story. Newcastle led Liverpool twice at St James’ Park on 23 August and drew 2-2 after conceding in the 99th minute. Three days later, in the Carabao Cup second round, Isaac Price put West Brom ahead with a free-kick before Toure equalised on his debut.
Harvey Barnes then came off the bench, scored in the 48th minute against his old club, watched Price level from the penalty spot in the 77th, and settled it four minutes later. Newcastle won 3-2 and Jaissle had his first competitive victory. Gonzalez was presented to the crowd before kick-off, which meant his first sight of his new team was one that creates plenty and gives up more. That is roughly the problem a holding midfielder is bought to solve.
Four days left
The window shuts at 11pm UK time on Tuesday 1 September, with a two-hour grace period for paperwork already filed. Newcastle have replaced the winger and now the midfielder. Whether anyone replaces the captain is a harder question, and there is not much of the window left to answer it.