Jack Grealish looks on while playing for Manchester City. Inset, Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan smiles. Inset, detailed view of the Ne...
Jack Grealish looks on while playing for Manchester City. Inset, Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan smiles. Inset, detailed view of the Ne...
Newcastle United could be in a position to take on Jack Grealish’s huge wages this summer.
Grealish is one of the names being linked with a move to Newcastle United during this summer’s transfer window, given the writing looks to be on the wall for him at Manchester City.
Indeed, Newcastle are interested in a loan move for Grealish, and the England international looks set to leave after he was reportedly snubbed from Pep Guardiola’s squad for the upcoming Club World Cup.
The 29-year-old, however, commands huge wages. Grealish’s Man City salary is reported to be around £300k per week, which is well above what Newcastle pay their top players.
With that in mind, Geordie Boot Boys spoke to football finance expert Adam Williams about whether or not the club could afford Grealish’s wages.
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Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Newcastle United can afford Jack Grealish’s wages
Williams suggested the club’s wage bill could rise from £219million to around £275million ahead of the 2025/26 season, with Eddie Howe’s side having won the Carabao Cup while qualifying for the Champions League.
“A weekly wage of £300,000 over a year is just short of £16m,” said Williams.
“That’s probably his basic pay, not including bonuses and national insurance. In the last financial year, Newcastle’s annual wage bill was £219m.
“That was 2023-24, when they were in the Champions League, which will have activated very significant bonuses and pay rises for players, all of which go towards the wage bill. In 2024-25, I suspect it will have come down quite a bit.
“They needed to keep the financial loss relatively low in the financial year to comply with PSR and from what I’m hearing they have been able to do that.
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“All of that suggests a lower wage bill, even with bonuses for the League Cup. Some of that will depend on whether the bonuses for qualifying for the Champions League are paid out in 2024-25 or 2025-26, though I suspect they will have arranged for it to be the latter.
“So, the wage bill is going to rise pretty dramatically in 2025-26. If I had to take a guess, I’d suggest somewhere around the £260-275m mark before player trading.”
Still, despite that, he highlighted the fact owners PIF could realistically afford to pay Grealish’s full salary. City have previously demanded clubs pay their wages in full if they are to loan a player out.
“They are going to continue that squad churn, so I don’t think it’s necessarily a case of simply adding the £16m for Grealish on top of that,” adds Williams.
“But even if it was, I think they could quite comfortably accommodate it. Looking at the loan deals that City have done for the likes of Joao Cancelo, Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips and so on in the past, they have expected the loan club to pay 100 per cent of the wages.
“There has then been a pretty modest loan fee on top of that, but that’s not going to move the dial that much.
“So, in terms of cash flow, Grealish isn’t going to be an issue for Newcastle. PIF have said they will always spend to the maximum allowed under PSR, which means injecting money into the club to cover the financial losses.
“And in terms of PSR, I’d say it’s likely to be an absolute maximum £22m, including his basic wage, national insurance, amortised loan fee and so on.
“Newcastle have plenty of PSR headroom to absorb that, if they think it’s a smart use of their money.”
Clearly, that doesn’t mean they will agree to such huge demands, but the financial flexibility looks to be there.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
What Jack Grealish has said about Newcastle United
In 2022, Grealish predicted Newcastle would become a “threat” to the top teams in the Premier League.
That’s very much proven to be the case. Howe’s side are trophy winners and have beaten all of the leading English teams under his watch, while smashing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Signing the England international would be interesting. Grealish would bring a lot of top-level experience, as well as versatility across the frontline.
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There are cons, however. His wages and recent form count against him, as well as the fact Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes are already options on the left wing.
Grealish could, at least in theory, play as No.10 but that would mean Howe switching to a system he’s not often used during his time at the club.