Eddie Howe has dampened hopes of a busy January transfer window for Newcastle United, pointing to the club’s ongoing Profit and Sustainability Rule (PSR) restrictions as a major obstacle to making significant moves.
Despite the team’s need for reinforcements, Howe admitted on Friday hours before beating Leicester 4-0 on Saturday that activity in the winter market is unlikely unless substantial funds are raised through player sales.
“I keep saying the same thing about January,” Howe said, via Yaseen Zaman of the Daily Mail. “I wouldn’t expect us to be in a position to be too active in the market. As we currently stand, things can change. You know, if we trade players, of course that’s different. But if we don’t trade players, I would expect us to be quiet.”
Newcastle’s financial strategy has already been shaped by PSR challenges, most damagingly with a couple of sales forced to be completed last summer as the Magpies had to send Elliot Anderson to Brighton (£35m) and Yankuba Minteh to Brighton (£30m) to bring back their financials to the black from a deep-red position.
Even then, concerns persist about potential PSR breaches, and Newcastle doesn’t look like gambling as Howe emphasized the importance of maintaining the club’s trajectory without sacrificing key players or fines/point-deductions because of PSR breaches.
“Naturally, PSR has had an effect on the club,” Howe said. “We haven’t been able to strive and reach as quickly as we wanted to initially. That has been halted somewhat in various ways.
“I don’t think there’s a wish or a want from anyone to sell our best players. We’re desperate to take the team forward positively, not step back in any way. The best players we have, they’re like gold dust. We’ve got to cherish them.”
The club is keen to offload fringe players to raise funds, with Miguel Almiron identified as a prime candidate for departure in January along with homegrown midfielder Sean Longstaff. The Paraguayan winger, now 30, has struggled for minutes and remains on the transfer list as Newcastle looks to manage its financial limitations, and the Tyneside lad would yield 100% revenue and profit in any potential sale because of his condition as an academy player.