A lot has been made of Newcastle and the Sporting Director position in recent years.
The Magpies lost Dan Ashworth to Manchester United in July 2024 as INEOS looked to take the Red Devils in a new direction.
Bizarrely, Manchester United have since sacked Ashworth – after he spent just five months working as Sporting Director at Old Trafford.
Newcastle eventually hired Paul Mitchell to replace the 54-year-old, but not before a real push was made to prise Dougie Freedman away from Crystal Palace, only for the Glaswegian to reject the Magpies.
Now – however – a development has occurred which could eventually push the Scot towards Tyneside.
Al-Diriyah lure Dougie Freedman from Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace announced on Monday that the 50-year-old has left Selhurst Park with immediate effect to take up a role overseas.
The club can confirm that Sporting Director Dougie Freedman is leaving Crystal Palace to take up a role overseas.#CPFC
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) March 17, 2025
A more detailed story by the Guardian adds that Freedman will join Al-Diriyah, who happen to be owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the same owners as Newcastle.
That is a particularly interesting development when you consider PIF pushed to hire the Sporting Director in 2024 before eventually appointing Mitchell.
Not to disregard the Englishman, who boasts a strong CV, including the signings of Heung-min Son and Dele Alli for Tottenham, but it never felt like he was first choice by any means.
Eddie Howe is believed to have pushed for Freedman, who has transformed Crystal Palace with the shrewd additions of talents like Adam Wharton, Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Daniel Munoz.
Therefore, it is entirely possible that PIF end up offering the Scot the chance to work at Newcastle, after successfully taking him away from Crystal Palace to work for another of their clubs – in our view at least.
What was said about Paul Mitchell at Newcastle?
The Magpies endured a tough transfer window last summer, losing Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson to Brighton and Nottingham Forest respectively, while only signing Odysseas Vlachodimos, John Ruddy, William Osula and Lloyd Kelly.
There was also an embarrassing transfer saga involving the aforementioned Guehi, with Mitchell submitting as many as four bids for the England international but still failing to secure his signature.
The media reported friction between Howe and Mitchell after that summer, so it feels like the 43-year-old needs to have a successful window this time around, or else he could be ousted.
