Newcastle allowed to spend £190m in January… but will only use £50m
Newcastle United fans shouldn’t expect a complete overhaul of the squad this January, with the club’s new owners looking to build and grow gradually. The lack of investment in the squad during the final few years of Mike Ashley’s tenure means that they could spend 190 million pounds this winter and stay within Financial Fair Play limits, but the consortium are only planning to spend 50 million pounds in their first window.
Despite the early excitement at the new owners’ arrival, The Telegraph have reported this Sunday that the January transfer budget will be set at just 50m pounds.
The newspaper explains that PIF believe it is important to manage expectations, even though Amanda Staveley recently told staff that there is a desire to win a trophy within five years.
Patience at Newcastle
It is important to note that Newcastle’s new owners haven’t yet installed a new sporting director or recruitment expert, so patience is required at this early stage. To help manage the Financial Fair Play rules, Newcastle will also look to agree new sponsorship deals that will boost their annual revenues, something Manchester City have done so well since their takeover.
As a result, the big spending might have to wait until next summer. This winter, the spending spree could be a more modest one, unless the team remain at serious risk of relegation, in which case some emergency operations could be given the green light.
𝘈 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴...
⚫️ 𝗛𝗢𝗪𝗔𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗗𝗦! ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/k9k5JYbLVg— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) October 17, 2021
The Newcastle owners want sensible spending
While several high-profile names have been linked with Newcastle, from Philippe Coutinho to Mauro Icardi, the first few signings could be more modest ones. For example, the Magpies could look to bring in players with expiring contracts, players such as James Tarkowski. In those cases, the transfer fee wouldn’t be quite so large and this means Newcastle could bring in three or four players with the 50m pounds budget.