Amanda Staveley ‘really excited’ by £125m Newcastle United transfer call amid FFP constraints

Newcastle’s squad has been bolstered by £125million worth of additions in the form of Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento. All three got to experience St James’ Park for the first time in a competitive match as Magpies players in the 5-1 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.

While Livramento remained on the bench, Tonali started the match and scored just six minutes into his competitive debut. Barnes then came on for the final 22 minutes and managed to get a goal and an assist as United opened the 2023-24 campaign with a convincing victory.

Speaking ahead of the game, Staveley assessed Newcastle’s summer transfer business so far.

“Delighted,” she told Sky Sports. “We’ve had a busy transfer window. We do have Financial Fair Play constraints that we have to be very, very savvy on bringing the right players in.“We’ve welcomed three fantastic new players. We’re really excited to give them a proper St James’ Park welcome. Welcoming new players is a key part of our business plan but we’re looking forward to having a slightly deeper squad ahead of us in the next few months.”

Eddie Howe is still targeting one more addition but admits the club will need to be creative with the potential transfer by pursuing either a loan or structured payment deal.

After the perfect start to the new season, Newcastle are preparing to compete in the Champions League for the first time in over 20 years.

Staveley’s husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi and their fellow co-owner Jamie Reuben are excited about the challenge ahead. “All of us are super delighted,” Ghodoussi said. “Obviously, it was a tremendous season last season.

“We’re excited but also very conscious of the difficulty of the new season. We’re not going to be complacent. We’ll continue to work hard and try to continue our success.”

Reuben added: “What a season ahead. These players deserve it, these fans deserve and this city deserves it. First time back in the Champions League for around 20 years so we’re right up for it.

“Obviously it brings a lot of high-quality additional games so we’ve got to give a good account of ourselves, see where we get to and enjoy the ride.”