£41m transfer profit and £1m steal shows what Paul Mitchell will bring to Newcastle United

Newcastle United have announced the appointment of Paul Mitchell as the club's new sporting director, replacing Dan Ashworth who joined Manchester United earlier this week.

Mitchell arrives on Tyneside with an excellent track record as a sporting director, having held roles with Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, RB Leipzig and Monaco in the past.

Combining traditional scouting with data-driven analysis, he has become one of the most sought after sporting directors in world football and, after the blow of losing Dan Ashworth, Newcastle can now look forward to a positive summer in the transfer market with their new man at the helm.

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"It's with immense pride that I accept the responsibility of being Newcastle United's new sporting director," Mitchell told the club's website.

"I've seen the recent growth and ambition of the club. This, plus the amazing fan base, made the decision to join an easy one. I can’t wait to get started and help continue the organisation's growth and long-term competitiveness in all areas of elite football performance."

Having been a former professional footballer for Wigan Athletic and MK Dons, Mitchell became the Dons' first ever head of recruitment once he finished his playing career.

He moved to Southampton where the shrewd acquisitions of the likes of Steven Davis, Mayo Yoshida, Paulo Gazzaniga and Nathaniel Clyne for minimal fees.

Mitchell also oversaw the Saints' signings of Sadio Mane, who they sold to Liverpool for a £22million profit, Graziano Pelle, who scored 16 goals in his first season at the club, and Dusan Tadic, who has gone on to have an excellent career at Ajax.

When Mauricio Pochettino swapped Southampton for Tottenham in 2014, he brought Mitchell with him and he was responsible for the signings of Son Heung-Min, Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld and Dele Alli, who he plucked from MK Dons for just £1million.

Mitchell's spell at Spurs ended after less than two years but those players formed the core of a Tottenham side that twice finished second in the Premier League and reached a Champions League final.

But it is perhaps his move, and his lasting legacy, at RB Leipzig, that Mitchell has earned most praise for. His signings of Matheus Cunha and Nordi Mukiele - who were sold on to Atletico Madrid and PSG respectively - were impressive but the arrival of Christopher Nkunku was perhaps his most impressive coup.

Plucked from obscurity at PSG for £11million, Nkunku's goals inspired RB Leipzig to back-to-back DFB Pokal successes, helped establish Leipzig as Champions League regulars, and he was named 2021/22 Bundesliga Player of the Season and won the Bundesliga Golden Boot the following season.

The French international was sold to Chelsea last summer for £52million, meaning the German side also banked a £41million profit on their transfer gamble.

Mitchell's last role was at Monaco, who have managed to maintain themselves as challengers at the top of the Ligue 1 table, while also selling on Axel Disasi to Chelsea for £38.7million, Aurelian Tchouameni to Real Madrid for £85.3million and Benoit Badiashile to Chelsea for £35million.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has spoken about the Magpies need to be creative in the transfer market and spot players with high potential value with slightly lower fees.

If the Magpies do need to trade players on, too, the structure he has put in place at previous clubs has allowed them all to make huge profits on players.

Mitchell's track record across Europe shows he is the right man to help Newcastle move towards the next level of their plan to re-establish themselves at the top of English football.