Chronicle Live held a Q and A this afternoon with thousands of readers dropping by to take a look
Newcastle United owner Yasir Al-Rumayyan and, inset, boss Eddie Howe
Newcastle United owner Yasir Al-Rumayyan and, inset, boss Eddie Howe
Newcastle United have yet to get off the mark in the summer transfer window - but there have at least been signs of available funds to splash out on some much-needed signings.
As United move into the crucial month of July with no senior signings on board and no sporting director in place, there have been concerns from the fanbase over what comes next. During today's Q and A, one of the big questions was about spending money.
The first thing to consider here is that no club is going to spout off about how much they have to spend.
But if you cobble together bids so far, £50m for Pedro, £50m for Elanga and £27m for Trafford, it feels like we are talking of a spending pot of around £150m.
We don't yet know whether Newcastle plan to use amortisation on some deals for PSR purposes but that is also worth taking into consideration too. With that in mind, and potentially cheaper deals and possible loan fees, a ball park figure of £200m is possible.
And certainly if Newcastle don't spend between £150m and £200m, and it's much less in the end, that is also a BIG story this summer.
Whether the second half of the window is used to offload one or two players or those sales come earlier is up for debate. But I think they have to come at some point.
Also, looking back at last summer when Eddie Howe wanted to keep Matt Ritchie and Paul Dummett before being overruled, a decision would have to be made on John Ruddy and Callum Wilson. If either or both stay, that could be seen as an internal battle won by Howe.
PSR runs over a three-year period with clubs restricted to losses of £105m during that period so it's not just what happens in this window which is taken into consideration. They could buy big now but may have to sell in January to balance the books.
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