The Newcastle Drop - July 9, 2025
Transfer activity kicks off (at last!) at Newcastle United. Also: the city's tallest building is sold and there's good news on energy bills for households in Byker...
Good morning Newcastle. Here’s today’s Newcastle Drop
⚽ Newcastle United have agreed a £55m fee with Nottingham Forest for Sweden winger Anthony Elanga. It is hoped the deal could be completed this week. - Luke Edwards, Telegraph
Striker Callum Wilson has bid farewell to Newcastle United following the expiry of his contract. The 33-year-old said on Instagram: “It’s time to say goodbye after an unbelievable few years in the Toon.” - BBC
The club has accepted Leeds United's offer of £12m for Sean Longstaff.
It is thought that the Geordie midfielder is now considering the offer. - Louise Taylor, Guardian
But the club has agreed a deal with ex-Norwich City and Everton goalkeeper John Ruddy. It is expected the 38-year-old will remain on Tyneside as a back-up player and will continue a mentor role working behind the scenes. - Lee Ryder, ChronicleLive
Everything Is Black And White collates coverage of Newcastle United in one easy place, with the best news and views compiled on the mighty Magpies. It’s brand new and also on Substack, like this newsletter. Check it out here.
In the city: Diana: the Untold and Untrue Story opens at Live Theatre (running until July 12)
🏢 Newcastle’s tallest building, Hadrian’s Tower, has been sold in a multimillion-pound deal. Australian investment company L1 Capital has bought the building, which had been put up for sale last year with a £14.6m price tag. - Coreena Ford, BusinessLive
🌡️ People living on Newcastle's Byker Estate are each being given hundreds of pounds worth of refunds, after pleading for an end to their huge heating bills. More than 150 households will get council refunds worth nearly £650 each. - Dan Holland, Local Democracy Reporter
🖥️ Amazon has launched 15-minute grocery deliveries in Newcastle after partnering with US rapid delivery firm Gopuff. The internet giant has launched the service, which means shoppers can order thousands of grocery products at any time of day, in 16 UK locations. - This Is Money
🍺 Five Newcastle pubs have made a list of England’s best bars. The Free Trade Inn, the Crown Posada, the Tyne Bar, the County in Gosforth and the Cumberland Arms are all included in the Telegraph’s Best 500 Pubs in England. - Telegraph
💷 Newcastle Building Society has opened its new city centre branch with a plea to other organisations in the area to use its facilities. The new site on Grainger Street has a number of community rooms for use by the society and other community groups. - Graeme Whitfield, BusinessLive
🚗 Police are looking for the occupants of a car which overturned after colliding with a garden wall in Kenton. They were called to Redland Avenue on Sunday afternoon following reports of a collision. - Daniel Hall, ChronicleLive
🎓 Historian David Olusoga and women’s campaigner Huffty McHugh will be awarded honorary degrees by Newcastle University this summer. Former Sage boss Paul Walker, Leon co-founder Henry Dimbleby and scientist Prof Richard Oreffo will also be honoured. - Newcastle University
🐶 A sniffer dog has found thousands of pounds of illegal tobacco behind a secret wall in a shop in Heaton. Northumbria Police and council trading standards officers were shocked to find the compartment in the cellar of the store. - Owen Younger, ChronicleLive
🎫 The Newcastle Fringe Festival has published details of some of its opening events. The event promises “dance, magic, comedy, variety performances and so much more”. You can find more details here.
🏥 “Scatter gun” mental health support for North East children could be failing some youngsters. Councillors in Newcastle have been told of a “huge” surge in demand for mental health support but the array of support services confuses many. - Dan Holland, Local Democracy Reporter
👷 A long-established building consultancy headquartered in Newcastle has been acquired by a national firm. Summers-Inman, which is based at Great Park and has a network of eight regional officers, has been acquired by Bellrock. - Graeme Whitfield, BusinessLive
🩺 A "scratch and sniff" test that could help experts spot risk factors for Parkinson's Disease is being developed by a Newcastle academic. Prof Nicola Pavese, a consultant neurologist at the RVI, wants people to sign up to help his research. - Sam Volpe, ChronicleLive
🐀 A Newcastle MP says she is "appalled" by fly-tipping blighting the city's West End and has called for urgent action to deal with the problem. Dame Chi Onwurah has spoken out about the state of back lanes in Benwell and other parts of her constituency. - Dan Holland, Local Democracy Reporter
🏢 Property litigation law firm Hägen Wolf has expanded into Newcastle. The Leeds firm has appointed Sharon Mathieson as partner to lead the office, which will take up space at the Cubo shared office facility in Bank House. - BDaily
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📌 The Freemen of Newcastle have unveiled a new artificial cricket pitch on playing fields at Forsyth Road in Jesmond. Pupils from West Jesmond Primary School joined representatives from the Freemen of the City, the English Cricket Board and the Northumberland Cricket Board to launch the facilities.
📌 The Second Bite Festival was held at Newcastle’s Wylam Brewery at the weekend, raising £116,000 for Cancer Research UK. The event, founded by Pine restaurant co-owner Sian Byerley, saw 20 chefs from some of the UK's leading restaurants cook at the pop-up event.
📌 Non-profit group Bind CIC has launched the two eco-fridges at Chillingham Road and Bridgewater primary schools. The fridges are designed to redistribute unserved school lunch meals by making them available to families at the end of the school day.
📌 Tanners Arms landlord Darren Goodwin has taken over the Black Bull pub near St James’ Park and re-named it The Blue Star. He said: “We wanted to bring a slice of the Ouseburn scene to the West End. That means quality food, a bit of edge in the decor, and a vibe that’s cool, creative, and family-friendly.”
The 100 best things in Newcastle
Number 26: the universities
There are few things more joyful at this time of year than seeing young people dressed to the nines in the city centre as they head to graduations at Newcastle and Northumbria universities. Both institutions are big employers and bring thousands of young people from around the world to add to the city’s cultural life.
In each edition of the Newcastle Drop I’ll be sharing some of my favourite things about Newcastle. You can see the previous selection here. I haven’t got all 100 worked out just yet, so feel free to make suggestions on what I should include. You can get in touch here with your own favourites.
Thanks for reading The Newcastle Drop - a new newsletter that aims to bring together all of the news and community events from around our city. It’s brought to you by Graeme Whitfield, editor of The Journal and long-time resident of the city.
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