Football Digest: Newcastle reaping rewards from transfer strategy
Newcastle could reportedly have their January move for Ruben Neves hijacked by Premier League rivals. The Magpies are hoping to bring Neves in on a short-term loan deal until the end of the season from Al-Hilal.
The Portuguese superstar only moved to the Saudi Pro League side in the summer but he could be back in the Premier League just six months after leaving Wolves for £47million. Newcastle need a replacement midfielder for Sandro Tonali, who has been banned for ten months for betting and have identified Neves as an ideal option.
However, the Mirror claim the move is likely to cause consternation among fellow Premier League clubs, as Newcastle are currently free to trade with Al-Hilal despite both being owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). PIF has an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle and a 75 per cent share of Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Ahli with the remaining 25 per cent controlled by a non-profit organisation.
Other top-flight English clubs may push the Premier League to bring in sanctions to stop Newcastle from having free reign over the Middle East’s biggest stars.
Newcastle have already done business with PIF-owned clubs. The Magpies sold Allan Saint-Maximin to the Al-Ahli in the summer for around £25m, without restrictions in place to stop them.
Director of Football Dan Ashworth said: “The current rules and regulations say there is nothing to stop it. Currently. There is a potential that the various different organisations will look at things across related parties and what you can do to acquire players at a fair market value.”
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Newcastle spent £131m in the summer and are expected to step up their transfer business in January. CEO Darren Eales says investment will continue to be “methodical and sustainable”, but admits the club is aware they need to continue building a deep squad that is capable of competing in Europe.
“The reality is, we’re always going to spend what we can under FFP, and that’s a great thing,” said Eales. “I can say, hand on heart, the club will always be doing its best to get to where we want to. But we’ve got to make sure we do it methodically and in a way that’s sustainable.”
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