Newcastle United, like all clubs across Europe operating under the FFP rules, is currently facing a tough balancing act, as already told openly by the club’s management at the start of the year when new CEO Darren Eales said so.
This approach is not driven by an immediate necessity to sell before buying but rather by a broader strategy to maintain financial equilibrium. Newcastle, for the uninitiated, is owned by the freaking Saudi Arabia PIF, which might be a lot of things but it definitely is not a poor entity.
Newcastle is in a position to invest in new talent and will do so next summer, that’s for granted. The problem is that they will need to balance the books, so any acquisition is likely to be followed or preceded by player sales of some sort to keep things relatively legal under the eye of FFP and the Premier League profit and sustainability rules.
Homegrown players have been mentioned as potential sale candidates mostly because their transfers could represent pure profit, although it’s not that there are many Super Magpies out there, are they?
Among the players whose futures are subject to speculation, Alexander Isak stands out. Despite rumors, insider sources including David Ornstein have indicated recently that Newcastle is keen to retain Isak, given his significant contributions to the team and the high transfer fee the club paid for him, as well as the reticence shown by other clubs across Europe to trump it in a potential acquisition from Newcastle this summer.
Isak’s sale would undoubtedly aid in balancing the books but at a potential cost to the team’s on-field success, similar to what will happen when Bruno crosses the door on his way out of St James’ Park.
The club will need to tread carefully and approach transfers in the most absolutely detailed and delicate way they can. Yes, the books must be balanced, but the production and the quality of the play on the pitch are what should matter more than anything if the Magpies want to keep growing and win the never-coming title they have chased for 50+ years and have still to conquer.
