Wage caps are likely to limit Eddie Howe's desire to sign “elite players”. Credit: Getty Images/Laurence Griffiths
Newcastle United can only sign two players this summer as they are unable to fund a squad overhaul due to financial fair play rules.
While fans were poised for another year of extravagant spending, recent allegations leveled against Everton and Manchester City for violating FFP rules and the prospect of heavy penalties if found guilty have led to a number of major flying clubs changing their hiring plans and budgets are likely to shrink as a result.
Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest are also aware that they have spent significant amounts of money over the past 12 months and need to be careful about this window. Player sales will be required by both clubs to balance the books.
At this time last year, Leicester City failed to improve their team under Brendan Rodgers because they were close to breaking the rules. West Ham will sell Declan Rice this summer to allay fears after being heavily supportive of manager David Moyes last summer.
The fact that charges have been filed against two Premier League players likely served as a powerful warning to clubs to stick to the rules, including Newcastle United, who have spent around £250m over the past three transfers. windows under Saudi owners. .
Manager Eddie Howe has made it clear he wants “elite players” to bolster the squad, but the expectation that this will mean a slew of new faces at St James' Park in preparation for a Champions League return after a 20-year absence seems misguided.
Instead, the club's recruiting team is looking for “difference makers” and will focus their resources on signing players who give the team more creativity to unlock a tenacious defense.
Newcastle have sometimes had a hard time scoring goals against teams that defend deep and in large numbers and this is seen as a major issue to be addressed this summer.
Newcastle only lost twice at home last season and have an impressive a record at St. James Park under Howe, meaning teams will be looking to hold them back and frustrate them even more in the future.
As Telegraph Sport reported in early May, Leicester City's James Maddison is at the top of Newcastle's wanted list and a deal for the England international is slowly moving forward. However, claims that Newcastle are the clear favorite to sign him are premature and they still have a battle to negotiate a fee with Leicester for the 26-year-old.
Newcastle have long been interested in James Maddison as the midfielder tops the club's wanted list. Photo: Getty Images/Michael Regan
The recently relegated club have asked for as much as £60m for Maddison and Newcastle are unwilling to offer that much as they hope to spread their budget as far as possible. Some fans may be dismayed at the thought of a limited number of players arriving, given that the original plan was to sign four or five players in that window, but quality over quantity is the new mantra.
There have been reports that Newcastle might have as little as £75m, but talking about budgets is a tricky subject given the club hasn't stuck to any of the previous three transfer windows since the purchase. consortium led by Saudi Arabia in October 2021
However, chief executive Darren Eales has repeatedly stressed that the club is indeed facing FFP-related issues and Telegraph Sport is aware that many of the names associated with the club in recent weeks are out of their price range. Among them are Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen and Dominik Soboslai from RB Leipzig.
Supporters' expectations need to be aligned with the financial reality of the business as Newcastle simply cannot yet compete with Europe's richest clubs on wages or transfer fees due to FFP. Indeed, in addition to watching players from recently relegated clubs such as Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters, there has also been a renewed appetite to consider potential loan deals.
Newcastle are said to be waiting to see what big clubs across Europe will do with their own signings to see if they can take one of their outcasts on a temporary deal, either with an option or commitment to buy in 12 months. It is understood that Manchester United's Scott McTominay remains on the shortlist, although his team mate Harry Maguire is of no interest to the North East club.
Arsenal's Kieran Tierney is also admired, but Newcastle won't pay £30m for the Scot. With them unable to make a large number of signings this summer, it is believed that there is a strong possibility that the team's two out-of-contract players, Paul Dammett and Matt Ritchie, will sign new contracts to stay at St James' Park.
Negotiations have been going on for some time now, with Howe expressing his desire to keep the pair at the club towards the end of last season.
Recent Comments