Newcastle United’s rivals handed transfer boost as PIF plot five-player swoop - £85m deal done

Newcastle United’s owners PIF have billions of assets managed by Clearlake Capital - who own a 60% stake in Chelsea following the £4.25billion takeover of the club just over 12 months ago, as previously reported by Mail Online. Since the takeover, The Blues have spent almost £600million on new signings and are desperate to offload players in order to recoup some funds.

Now several PIF-owned Saudi Pro League clubs are targeting Chelsea players who have been deemed surplus to requirements.

Newcastle United and Chelsea’s close connection

While Chelsea do have links with PIF via Clearlake, they were not sufficient enough to raise conflict of interest concerns with Newcastle. The Premier League approved Chelsea’s takeover last May after government sanctions were imposed on former owner Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Still, there are many connections between the Newcastle hierarchy and Chelsea aside from PIF. Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi have personal relationships with members of Chelsea’s board while Magpies co-owner Jamie Reuben is a boyhood Chelsea fan.

PIF’s Saudi Pro League takeover

At the start of the month, PIF acquired a 75% ownership stake in Saudi Pro League clubs Al Ahli, Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ittihad.

Following the acquisition, a PIF statement read: “The transfer of the four clubs will unleash various commercial opportunities, including investment, partnership and sponsorships across numerous sports.”

And since then, several major signings and transfer rumours have emerged with Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema signing for Al Ittihad on a three-year contract reported to be worth £258million. Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has also agreed to join Al Ittihad on a four-year deal reportedly worth £85million.

PIF clubs target wantaway Chelsea stars

Earlier this month, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly visited Saudi Arabia for transfer discussions. Following the discussions, Kante completed a move while several other Blues players have been offered deals by PIF-owned Pro League clubs.

Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Hakim Ziyech, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Romelu Lukaku have all reportedly been in talks with Saudi Pro League clubs. And CBS Sports claim PIF are the driving factor behind the potential deals.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are trying to offload out of favour players such as Jeff Hendrick, Jamal Lewis and Isaac Hayden. Despite sharing owners, there has been no transfer interest between any Newcastle players from Saudi clubs.

Newcastle United transfer business

Unlike Saudi Pro League clubs, Newcastle will have to carefully manage transfer spending due to Financial Fair Play regulations. While there are no rules preventing a club from selling to another club owned by the same party, ultimately Saudi clubs are looking to sign ‘more marketable’ players to help boost the Pro League brand.

That’s not to say Newcastle won’t benefit from PIF’s new ownership of four of Saudi Arabia’s top football clubs in the future. Further friendly matches and partnerships can be agreed, as can potential loan moves or transfers moving forward.

Newcastle have made just one signing so far this transfer window with 18-year-old winger Yankuba Minteh joining from Danish side Odense Boldklub before being loaned out to Dutch champions Feyenoord.