Newcastle United are backed by virtually limitless Saudi riches but Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) have kept them from flooding the transfer market with cash.
The only money they spent this summer was to trigger the obligation-to-buy clause after Lewis Hall’s loan move from Chelsea, a mysterious £20million fee on goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, who has got nowhere near the first team, and another £15m on William Osula, who has been given just 10 Premier League minutes this season.
Meanwhile they raised significant transfer fees by selling Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest and highly-rated young winger Yankuba Minteh to Brighton. Magpies fans will hope that, having paid their dues in an underwhelming summer, the shackles will be lifted when the window opens in January.
But they are set to be disappointed. According to The Daily Mail, PSR is still keeping Newcastle chiefs on a tight leash, and there will only be money to spend this winter if money is made through player sales.
Manager Eddie Howe has reportedly been told that outgoings will be a certainty if he wants to bring in new talent. It is understood that the Magpies are not planning a wholesale clearout, with a selection of smaller deals likely to be enough to support fresh investment.
And Miguel Almiron is deemed the most likely to make way. Howe has taken the right-wing starting spot in a different direction this season, fielding Anthony Gordon and moving Joelinton out to the left.
The Toon could still fetch a reasonable fee for Almiron, who has reportedly piqued the interest of Argentinian giants River Plate. The 30-year-old has not played his football in South America since leaving Lanus in 2016.
Newcastle looked to be flexing their financial muscles in the summer by offering £65million for defender Marc Guehi, which was rejected by Crystal Palace. If that had gone through, they would have had even less manoeuvrability in the January window.
Anthony Gordon’s new contract is believed to have put the squeeze on senior figures at St. James’ Park, with the winger handed a huge pay rise, which impacts PSR and the amount Newcastle are able to spend on transfers.
The Premier League have already made it clear that clubs who spend over the £105m PSR threshold over a rolling three-year period could be punished with points deductions, like Everton and Nottingham Forest were last season.
