Following the eventual sale of Newcastle United by Mike Ashley, plenty wondered how their new owners would flex their muscles as the Barcodes technically became the richest club in the world, but when it came to the transfer market and the January transfer window, whilst they did splash the cash, in some ways their business was unexpectedly unremarkable.

The arrivals of Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid, Chris Wood from Burnley, Lyon’s Bruno Guimaraes and Brighton and Hove Albion’s Dan Burn (plus the loan capture of Aston Villa left back Matt Targett) did see a stunning spend of £85million at their first shot at improvement, and it was understandably welcomed by Newcastle fans, who now see their club sit in 15th place and not quite as relegation threatened as they once were this season, but it wouldn’t have been the kind of calibre of ‘player name’ they would’ve expected to be linked with given their new found wealth and those expectations will only rise over the summer whilst players relax and maybe enjoy a round or two of Betway Golf.

With reports that Eddie Howe is trying to convince his new board that Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez should be their new Number 1 and a main target come the summer transfer window, in preparation for heading into the 2022/23 season, Seagull’s fans won’t be happy to see a second player raided by the Geordies, particularly if The Sun’s £20million valuation proves to be correct.

The 24-year-old single capped Spanish international stopper has particularly impressed this season under manager Graham Potter and with plenty of praise going in the direction of the Amex Academy graduate, he’ll undoubtedly be on a few shopping lists and not just Howe’s – much in the way defensive midfielder Yves Bissouma has already been linked with a move away to both Newcastle United and Aston Villa.

Seagull’s fans can still retain plenty of hope of keeping both players with them throughout the summer though, as savvy Chief Executive Director Paul Barber is more than capable of withstanding temptation and owner Tony Bloom only ever entertains deals that serve the long term future and benefit of the club.

This was admirably demonstrated during former seasons and transfer windows where centre half Lewis Dunk was repeatedly and constantly linked with moves away to Premier League rivals like Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, to simply mention just two potential destinations, given the commanding performances he put in at the heart of defence as they both won promotion to the English top flight and then secured their status.

Whatever Dunk doubts fans may have held at the time, they were allayed when youngster Ben White was allowed to move for a very tasty £50million to Arsenal, and there’s no reason to doubt that the club will be just as clever when it comes to the future of Sanchez and Bissouma – there will be another plan in place rather than a simple bowing to pressure until the price is absolutely right.

Dunk’s reliability was rated ahead of White’s promise and there’s no reason to believe a similar calculation won’t again be made over the summer to ensure that Brighton can continue to hold their own, and take steps to look up the table rather than down.

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