President has now suggested he never had any intention of selling £23m player to Newcastle despite talks

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Newcastle fans gained a newfound dislike for Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish during the summer transfer window.

It was said that some within St James’ Park suspected Steve Parish never had any intention of selling Marc Guehi to the Magpies this summer, having been left “miffed” by how Newcastle tried to pinch Dougie Freedman – Director of Football for Crystal Palace – at the start of the summer.

That is according to the Daily Mail.

Despite this suspicion, the 59-year-old still fielded four bids for the England international, rejecting them all as Newcastle ultimately failed to sign their top target.

Now, another leading figure has suggested he also wasted Newcastle‘s time…

Joan Laporta makes Andreas Christensen admission

Joan Laporta – President of Barcelona – has now revealed that he never had any intention of selling Andreas Christensen this summer.

Fabrizio Romano quotes the 62-year-old as saying: “We never planned to sell Ronald Araujo or Andreas Christensen this summer.”

However, Laporta’s comments come after Caught Offside claim that Newcastle did hold talks about signing Christensen this summer – with the report stating that Barcelona were open to selling for £23m.

Therefore – if Caught Offside’s information is accurate – it would suggest Newcastle also wasted their time trying to sign the Denmark international, as Laporta never had any plans to sell the Dane.

Newcastle can still explore free agent market

In truth, the transfer window was a mess for Newcastle.

The start of the summer involved Newcastle targeting immense talents such as Michael Olise as fans pined for a return to UEFA Champions League football, but ended with Odysseas Vlachodimos going down as the most expensive arrival.

Worse still, the Greece international only arrived at Newcastle in a £20m deal – with Elliot Andersen joining Nottingham Forest for £35m – in an apparent workaround for both clubs to outwit the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

However, there are still some free agents Newcastle can sign outside of the transfer window, with Anthony Martial a potential signing for the Magpies – in our view at least..

Hopefully, this quiet summer transfer window enables Newcastle to be more ambitious in 2025 – with Howe under pressure to keep adding quality to the starting XI.