Newcastle United chiefs have altered their transfer policy following comments from CEO Darren Eales last year.
Back then, the Magpies, under huge strain in the world of PSR, were forced to accept that any player had a price as the club steered themselves away from the danger of points deduction. That near brush with top-flight disaster resulted in the sales of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion, respectively.
It was in January 2024 when Eales said that any bids for players would be considered and in June enquiries were made from Chelsea for Alexander Isak and Liverpool for Anthony Gordon, with neither player sacrificed and Newcastle able to mount what has been a successful tilt at the 2024/25 season with the Carabao Cup in the bag and a Champions League place still achievable with 10 matches left.
With Newcastle in a much better place in terms of PSR, the necessity to sell big names is no longer hanging over the boardroom at St James’ Park. Keeping Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes, and Anthony Gordon should pose no problem for the Magpies – with Champions League qualification set to settle any jitters around St James’.
That would keep the top players focused on next season while also giving Newcastle the financial clout to negotiate an enhanced deal for Isak with talks set to begin at the end of the campaign. Chronicle Live understands that Isak’s astronomical price tag, believed to be beyond £150m, would frighten off both Liverpool and Arsenal in any case.
Eales said earlier this month: “The reality is that all of our players are under long-term deals. They’re committed to the club. So, from that perspective,
It doesn’t mean there will not be departures with squad players set to be sold and big decisions to be made on contract extensions for long serving stars like Jamaal Lascelles and Callum Wilson.
On slight concern on Bruno is the appointment of Andrea Berta at Arsenal as new transfer chief. Berta is a fan of Bruno and has close links with his agency.
While at Atletico Madrid, Bruno was a serious target for the La Liga club but like Juventus and Paris St-Germain, the Spanish side were gazumped by Newcastle in 2022 when a sudden cash splurge resulted in his £40m move to Tyneside.
Again, Newcastle would be protected if Arsenal came knocking for Bruno and his valuation is currently soaring above the £90m mark. Isak has been a long-term target of the Gunners but they have been unable to come up with a bid so far.
However, getting Isak tied down early in the summer would pour cold water on exit talk for the Sweden star.
