NEWCASTLE fans were told NOT to expect any “significant” transfers this month as Financial Fair Play kicks in.
And the Toon Army were also warned they may have to accept the summer sale of Bruno Guimaraes or Sven Botman to grow the cash “headroom” required for squad improvement.
Toon chief executive Darren Eales unveiled the club’s accounts for last term.
While Newcastle announced losses of £73.4million in 2022-23 despite revenues up £70m to a record £250m – after spending £153m on new players – Toon chiefs are confident they are not at risk of breaching Prem FFP rules.
The Magpies were £70.7m in the red for the 2021-22 financial year.
But despite Eddie Howe’s men dropping to ninth in the table, 11 points off a Champions League spot, and being evicted from Europe, Eales indicated the manager will not have a spending pot in the winter window.
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Eales said: “January isn’t a great window for us to be doing business.
“That doesn’t mean we won’t do any business, as we saw with Anthony Gordon last year.
“But it’s difficult to do any major surgery when you’re in the middle of the season and you are trying to bring quality in.
“Clubs are less willing to lose those types of players in January. Summer is always better from a value and a planning perspective.”
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Eales added: “We have had a number of injuries and we have got some very good players coming back in the second half of the season.
“That will be the first couple of things, but like everything, we have to approach it on the medium- to long-term basis rather than knee-jerk reactions.
“You have seen from the accounts the level of investment in the squad.
“We always have to be mindful of the Profit and Sustainability Rules stuff and making sure we are always going to be compliant long term.”
Eales admitted Newcastle’s spending patterns would be different without those Prem restrictions but conceded one major summer sale might make financial sense.
‘EVERYBODY HAS THEIR PRICE’
Guimaraes, Botman or Alexander Isak would be the obvious options – with the former already being linked with PSG and Barcelona.
SunSport also revealed homegrown ace Sean Longstaff could be sold if the right offer comes in – with any money received for the midfield straight profit.
And Eales explained: “If we’re going to get to where we want to get to, at times it is necessary to trade your players.
“Whether that is because of the players’ contract length, the offer is too good to refuse, you need to reload in certain areas, all of this could make sense to trade.
“In the world of PSR, everybody has their price.
“Look at Liverpool. They sold Philippe Coutinho to bring in Allison and Virgil van Dijk.
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“Jack Grealish went from Aston Villa and they have reinvested and reloaded, while West Ham made that decision on Declan Rice.
“It’s just the nature of the beast. If you trade players on it creates more headroom to spend and you have to keep growing that headroom.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
