Everything Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales said about new signings, PSR, Alexander Isak & St James' Park

Newcastle published record revenue figures of £320.3million for the 2023-24 season which saw the club compete in the Champions League for the first time in over 20 years. The club’s losses after tax was recorded as £11.1million for the 12 months ending June 30, 2024.

That marks a significant decrease from the £71.8million losses recorded for the 2022-23 season in which significant investment was made into the first team squad. The club’s commercial revenue increased to a club record £83.6million thanks to the ‘new and enhanced deals’ with the likes of Sela, Noon, Fenwick, InPost and Adidas.

The club also made £29.8million as a result of competing in the Champions League, a competition they are looking to qualify for again for the 2025-26 season.

In his first meeting with the media since announcing he would be stepping down from his position as CEO at Newcastle for health reasons, Eales answered various questions about the club’s finances, PSR, player sales and more.

Here’s what he had to say...

Why have the club not spent money in the last three transfer windows?

Eales: "The first thing is, to go back to the basics of PSR rules. You are allowed to lose £105million allowable losses over a three-year rolling basis.

"That's the sort of background that we have to deal with in terms of complying with PSR. We have been clear on this, ownership has committed to spending to the maximum amount we can within the rules.

"If the rules weren't there we'd spend more. Because we are an ambitious ownership group that is looking to drive Newcastle to be sustainable and competing for trophies. Ultimately we want to be winning the Premier League - but we have to do it within the constraints of what we have.

"We are already committed to £105million of losses over a rolling three-year period. That's the first thing.

“Secondly, when the takeover took place we were in the relegation zone. We front-loaded the spend and brought in the players that we did that took us from relegation to the Champions League within a season.

"That is great credit to the players, Eddie, the ownership to get us there. But you have to pay the piper, the reality is we [then] saw it in this financial year.

"Because we have discussed we have the £11m of losses which made us just about compliant. But that included us selling the players we had to sell [Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson] at the of the financial year.

"To go back to the last three windows. Firstly, Lewis Hall was signed permanently last summer.

"So although it feels like h

e was not a new player as he was on loan, for PSR and the spend we are allowed to do, that transfer happened in that [2024] summer window.

"We have also done since the summer 2023 window new contracts for Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon, so all of those factors are when we have retained our better players.

"But increased contract lengths mean increased costs. So we have been tight.”

Can Newcastle United sign players this summer?

Eales: “It's a bit of movable feast because we obviously have a lot of factors that will go into what we do in the summer and it's an evolving process in terms of where players are in the current squad who are looking to potentially move on and who we're going to bring in.

“We're going to have the factor of what revenues do we have next year and are we in Europe, where do we finish this season? All that goes into the question but the good news is when I talk about PSR it's always a yearly cycle so you can see that we had to do our housework in these windows.

“In these financial accounts - 23/24 - we had to do what we had to do, that year was a good year for us in terms of PSR and it's still part of our three-year cycle.

“So the good news is it gets a little bit easier once you have a good season like we had in these accounts to invest in the future but the amount will depend on a lot of factors. It is a new cycle, and that's good news for us.”

Can Newcastle United keep hold of top stars like Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon?

Eales: “We're in a position now where because of the fact we were able to move a couple of players in January [2025] that weren't really impacting on minutes on the pitch.

“We've got that wish and desire to keep our key players, they're all under long-term contracts. So from that perspective, we have no intention at all of those players being moved on, and we're not under the gun or anything like that.

“We've got an ownership that is ambitious, wants the best for the club. So from that perspective, it'd be crazy for us to consider it.”

Will you reward Alexander Isak with a new long-term contract?

“We’re going to be clear – he has multi years left so all of these things, we will have the discussions in terms of a new deal just like we did with, whether it’s Joelinton, Bruno or Anthony Gordon. That’s something that we will approach in the summer.”

Is it annoying to see Alexander Isak and star players linked with moves elsewhere?

Eales: “It is part of football. You would rather have people talking about players than not in the sense we know he is a world-class player and he is somebody, obviously, other clubs would covet because he is an incredible player.

“You see it in his all-round game. He is not just a great finisher, some of the things he does. I still think back to his assist at Everton, he has the ability to do that.

“It is part and parcel of the world we live in, but it is frustrating. It is part of what football is, everybody wants to have a story [transfer speculation] and talk about it but when you think about the growth of Newcastle we have the ambition to be a top club.

“There is a sense of annoyance as we are almost seen as the next category down and it is fair game to talk about our players but we are striving as a club to be at the top table and we want our best players here and to be honest it shows the value Isak has that they talk about him all the time.”

What would you say to any player who asks to leave in the summer?

Eales: “The reality is that all of our players are under long-term deals. They’re committed to the club. So, from that perspective, we’re not looking to move any player on.”

How is your health?

Eales: “I appreciate the question, I just want to say thanks to everyone on this call, the people I’ve spoken to and the fans have been super compassionate. I’m doing well. I’m focused on that transition [to a new CEO] which is why I’m working my notice and made the statement I did.

“The ownership are doing the search for the new CEO and my focus is on business as usual and giving as smooth a transition as is possible for the new person coming in.”

Any decision made on St James’ Park?

Eales: “We're looking to get something done in the near future but I can't really say anymore than that. Work is going on and I think you've seen it from just the general discussions we've had it is something we're taking very seriously because it's a hugely important decision.”

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