Newcastle supporters should now be extremely happy as the PIF decision appears to be paying off – Our View

Newcastle and Dan Ashworth officially began working together back in June, following a period of gardening leave after his exit from Brighton.

In his first summer as Technical Director on Tyneside, the 51-year-old helped to complete a number of impressive signings, such as Nick Pope, Alexander Isak, and Sven Botman.

However, Newcastle fans now have a new reason to be excited about PIF (Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia) bringing Ashworth to St James’ Park.

Well, in his previous role at Brighton, Ashworth plucked a number of footballers from relative obscurity and entrusted them to make an impact in the Premier League.

Unknown quantities at the time of their arrival, such as Kaoru Mitoma, Alexis Mac Allister, and Moises Caicedo have since risen to become some of the most impressive performers at the 2022 World Cup.

Caicedo performed excellently for Ecuador, while Mitoma also caught the eye as Japan pulled off impressive wins over Germany and Spain.

Above all, Mac Allister shone as Argentina won the World Cup, providing an assist for Angel Di Maria in the final.

In our view, Newcastle fans should be seriously excited about the future under Ashworth given the quality of his scouting ability.

All four of the aforementioned players arrived at Brighton for peanuts, and now, they are worth millions.

Mac Allister – who is attracting interest from Arsenal and Tottenham – is probably worth at least £50m now, while Brighton has already slapped a £70m price tag on Caicedo.

DAN ASHWORTH WILL HELP NEWCASTLE BE SUSTAINABLE

Some Newcastle fans might argue that they don’t need to find hidden gems such as the aforementioned quartet, given their financial resources under Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi.

However, the Magpies must stay within financial guidelines, and not break any rules.

Therefore, Ashworth finding more gems like Mac Allister and Caicedo could prove imperative to sustaining the future of Newcastle – he seems to have already found one in Garang Kuol.

Even if these rough diamonds never played a game for Newcastle, Ashworth could keep the books balanced by loaning them out – raising their value in the process – before selling them for profit.

Whatever happens from this point on, Ashworth’s signings at Brighton now shining at the World Cup suggest the future is bright for Newcastle.