Joe Buck reacts to the news that Anthony Elanga has joined Newcastle United from Nottingham Forest. The £52m (+£3m add-ons) deal for the Swedish international is the club's first major transfer in two years.
00:00So Newcastle United have finally made their first signing of the summer with the arrival of Anthony Alanga from Nottingham Forest.
00:06Now we all know it's a deal they've wanted to do for a while now, probably much for 12 months.
00:10It emerged as a target for them later on last summer window.
00:14Finances meant they couldn't get a deal done then and of course it emerged as a target again earlier this summer.
00:19And after weeks of negotiations with Forest, unwilling sellers, you know, they had a very good season themselves.
00:24Anthony Alanga had a very good season.
00:25And you can see why Forest didn't want to sell, you know, ahead of their European Conference League or Europa League journey now.
00:32But Newcastle finally got a deal over the line, got a fee agreed earlier this week for £52 million plus £3 million in add-ons, which are apparently hard to achieve.
00:40So it'll be interesting to see what they are if they come out.
00:44But on Alanga, it's a good sign.
00:45Now, as I said, Eddie Howe's got his main target.
00:48You know, he's someone that's got lightning speed, someone that works hard defensively.
00:51His assist stats were up there with the very best in the Premier League, including Jacob Murphy, a person he'll compete with for a play.
00:58So, yeah, it's a really exciting signing.
01:00He's already got lots of friends in the squad.
01:02You know, Alexander Izak, Emil Kraft, international teammates, and of course Willa Sula that they've been on Instagram a lot with.
01:08So I think it's a sign that should see Alanga fit straight into the team and someone that can hopefully hit the ground running from day one.
01:15And, you know, that game against Aston Villa at the beginning of the season, 16th of August, it's going to be a massive game.
01:20They've got Liverpool a week later and then, of course, Leeds before the first international break.
01:25So they're three big games and you can hope, you'd hope Newcastle can hit the ground running.
01:29And with Anthony Alanga in there, with the amount of Premier League experience he has, not just at Forest, but of course Manchester United,
01:34you hope that he can slot seamlessly into the team.
01:38Where that leaves Newcastle going forward for other signings, obviously they're interested in James Trafford.
01:42That's well known, that's been publicised pretty much the same out as Alanga.
01:45And it looks a couple of weeks ago that that deal would get it done first and ahead of Alanga, but it's not the way it's gone.
01:50Of course, interesting, Jojo Scalvini, Mark Gahey for centre-back options.
01:55It's another one, and of course, the second striker option, whether that's Dominic Cavalier in an out-and-out striker,
02:00whether they go for a versatile forward in the mould of Jao Pedro that they're targeting.
02:03Not too sure, but yeah, it's one of them that, you know, it's good to see Newcastle finally get a sign on.
02:07Obviously, it's been almost two years since their last signing.
02:12For big money as well, you know, £52 million instead, £55 million potentially.
02:15It's not a little amount of money to spend, so Newcastle will hope they've got this signing right.
02:20Especially with FFP, PSR, they've got to get every single signing right.
02:24And Newcastle will hope they've done that with Alanga.
02:25I think it's a really good buy, I think it's someone who will excite Newcastle fans.
02:29But, crucially, as I said before, someone who will fit in the Eddie House style, play perfectly.
02:33It's the exact player you want.
02:35You know, fast on the wing, get assists, can finish, can use both feet as well.
02:40That's crucial, I think.
02:41You can use both feet.
02:42So, if Eddie Howe wants a player to cut in on his left, Alanga can do that.
02:44If they want more of a traditional winger like they had in Jacob Murphy last year, they can do that.
02:48And, you know, touch on Murphy, actually.
02:49He had a brilliant year last year.
02:50And I don't think Alanga will be out there to replace him straight away.
02:53I think, you know, there is a place for Murphy in this squad.
02:56I think it's good that they have competition for him, especially with Champions League, Premier League and the Cup competition.
03:01It's good to have competition in that area.
03:02And, of course, you can't expect Murphy to produce what he did last year because he hasn't thrown his tight Newcastle United career.
03:07And that's not a sight under Jacob Murphy.
03:08He was just in a brilliant bit of form throughout last year.
03:10So, yeah, it's good to have options there.
03:12And with Gordon and Barnes on one side, Murphy, Nalanga on the other, and Isak up front and get another central strike, as I said.
03:17That's a very fearsome attack in three with lots of lots of depth in there.
