Start from the beginning here!

2017/18 has come to an end and the players each depart for their holidays, some no doubt unknowingly for the last time. I don’t intend to remove that many players from the squad as I don’t want to do an entire overhaul in one window, however the rumour mill is well and truly underway.

The early murmur is that Newcastle are preparing a bid for Milos Veljkovic and that the player is open to a move, excited by the prospect of playing for such a big club. I tell you what, if he thinks that Newcastle, who’ve just finished 13th in the Premier League, are a bigger club than Werder Bremen, who’ve just finished 10th in the Bundesliga, then he can go and rot in Geordie land for all I care. Mike Ashley can shaft him along with the rest of Newcastle.

Our first bit of business is an off-field acquisition. We hire a new Head of Youth Development, poaching Kristjaan Speakman from Birmingham City. Our youth facilities are top notch and, whilst Björn Schierenbeck brought through a great bunch last season, Speakman is on another level. This could be a crucial appointment for the club’s long-term ambitions.

Next up, our Initial Budgets for the season. This is the make-or-break moment, defining just how much we can do this season and how dependent we may become on the outgoings from the club.

I’m sat at home watching Come Dine With Me repeats when the email comes through. I barely have time to read the disappointing news before Wolfgang Rolff, my assistant, rings.

“£5.3 million? Are you fucking shitting me, Wolfgang?” I yell.

“The board have said that whilst they appreciate the work you’ve done in the last year…”

“They appreciate shit all of the work I’ve done in the last year. I got this club into 10th position, Wolfgang. We could have just literally just put our feet up for the last month of the season. Do you know how long it’s been since Werder Bremen have had a comfortable last month of a season?”

“The club finished 8th, last season, boss.”

“Really? 8th? With this squad? Bloody hell. Fair play to Alexander Nouri… but that’s not the point! £5.3 million is a fucking joke. Who am I supposed to buy with that?”

“Our scouts are compiling a list of players now. Sir, I have to warn you, some big clubs are sniffing around our best players. Dortmund’s Sporting Director has been asking about Delaney for the last couple of weeks…”

“Tell him he can piss off. I’m not selling Delaney, certainly not within this division.”

“Augustinsson is getting a lot of attention from abroad. Schalke are after Bauer. I assume you saw the Newcastle reports regarding Veljkovic? They’re not just rumours. They’re putting together a first bid imminently. We’re not going to be building on the season we’ve just had, we’re going to be rebuilding half our team.”

I bury my head in my free hand as the realisation of the difficult task ahead hits home. £5.3 fucking million.

A matter of days pass before we receive our first transfer offer and it’s for Veljkovic, however it’s not Mike Ashley who’s putting a bid in, it’s Sean Dyche.

The offer is laughably low and I immediately reject it, not even dignifying the rejection with any further reasoning. A Premier League club isn’t getting away with paying less than £10 million for Veljkovic, not with all that delicious Sky TV money.

The next day, we receive a second offer, this time for Ludwig Augustinsson from newly-promoted Wolves.

Not only is the offer far too low in regards to his valuation at the club but I’ve also no intention of letting him go at all. He’s one of the club’s better players and offers a lot in an attacking sense. If any team wants him, they’re going to have to go over £15 million, maybe even £20 million.

Resigned to the inevitable departure of Veljkovic, I have to look around for another centre-back. However both my budget and options are very limited. I remember that, back in January, Marc-Oliver Kempf decided that he didn’t want to speak to us at all, deciding to keep his options open for the future. However, it appears he still hasn’t found a new club and that the interest is minimal. With this in mind, I approach for a bid.

Thankfully he’s much more open to a move, maybe because he’s realised that he’s not quite the hot property his agent had clearly told him he was back in January. He insists on a buyout clause for Champions League clubs of £15 million but quite frankly that isn’t a scenario which really concerns me if nobody’s willing to take him on a free transfer.

As for outgoings, I need to raise the funds to improve my chances of getting to spend a decent amount of money. Naturally, Max Kruse is already transfer listed with an asking price of £15 million. It’s not a massive amount of money but, for a player who’s 30 years old and earning the most money at the club, it’s a boost to get both the wage off the books whilst getting a good boost to the transfer budget. Gondorf, Moisander and Diagne join the transfer list, set to take a decent amount off the wage bill along with Bargfrede who will not be having his contract renewed at the club and will leave on a free.

Another Veljkovic offer comes in, this time it’s a much better offer. They offer £7 million initially but I know there’s some wiggle room to be had. I come back with a request for £15 million and eventually we meet halfway at £11 million. The offer is accepted and negotiations between Veljkovic and Newcastle can begin.

The transfer window officially opens as 1st July finally comes. Kempf joins the club officially, quickly becoming one of the club’s best defenders straight away. Aged 23, he’s got longevity on his side as well. He can be a big player for the club in the coming years.

Thomas Delaney is the next player to be subjected to a bid – this time from the terrible club that is Leipzig. The one thing that a bid from Leipzig does bring, however, is money. Their spitting in the face of the German ownership system does have its perks when you’re trying to offload players and I know I can get a good fee out of them. In spite of this, I have no intention of selling one of my best players. They come straight in with a bid of £15 million and I immediately flat-out reject the offer, largely because it’s insulting but also because he’s pretty indispensable to the club.

Delaney soon gets wind of the rejection, however, and wants answers.

“Boss, can I have a word?”

“Of course you can, Thomas. What’s on your mind?”

“Look, this doesn’t have to go anywhere outside of this room, but I know. I know about Leipzig. They told my agent they made contact over a transfer and you told them you weren’t interested. I want to know why.”

“You’re the captain, Thomas. You’re the club captain. What do you expect me to do when Leipzig come in with a pitifully low offer? You’re one of our best players, I’ve no intention of letting you go anywhere.”

“With all due respect, boss, Leipzig are playing Champions League football. I want to play Champions League football and we can both recognise that isn’t going to happen here any time soon.” He’s starting to get a bit blunt about this now and it’s beginning to grate.

“Are you saying you don’t have any faith in this squad’s ability to compete?” I put this all on him.

“Honestly? Yes. You’re looking to sell Kruse and I understand why, but you’re going to do well to find a player as good as him for they money you’ll get for him. Look at our squad and compare it to Bayern, Dortmund, Leverkusen and, most importantly, Leipzig. They’re a huge step up and it’s one I want to take while I’ve still got time.”

“You know what? Get out. I don’t need players who don’t buy into the project I’m building here. If Leipzig come back with an offer that comes close to our valuation of you, I’ll let you go. In a few years you’ll look back on this as your greatest mistake, mark my words.”

Delaney struggles to contain laughter as I tell him this. He gets up and shakes his head, leaving the room without saying a word. Two days later, the transfer is completed as we sell him for £25 million to Leipzig.

The first casualty of the bigger clubs has come round. It’s not a great feeling but he’s replaceable. Anybody who doesn’t buy into the project we’re building is replaceable.

As for Max Kruse, Schalke approach me, however it’s only a loan. They’ll pay for his entire wage and there’s an obligation to buy them after 15 appearances for the club, however they’ll only pay £12 million instead of £15 million. At this point, I’m just happy to get rid of him, anything to get that scumbag out of my club. Thankfully he agrees terms with Schalke (the rumours are that he’s taken a pay cut to get away from the club) and the transfer is completed. I don’t even give him a farewell. I just brace myself for the inevitable backlash from his agent which will follow in the coming weeks.

The Veljkovic transfer is finalised as he comes to an agreement with Newcastle. He’s gone and we get another £11 million added to the budget.

Finally, Niklas Moisander is sold to AEK Athens for £800k. A relatively small fee but as his wages are around £30k per week then that’s all that matters, especially considering how injury-prone and ageing he is.

The transfer window hasn’t been open long but we’ve managed to get rid of a few players. Not necessarily all by choice but getting rid of Kruse is a huge weight off the club, both internally and from the media. Delaney will be a huge miss but we’re going to find a good replacement.

The rebuild begins.

Read Part 16 here!