Newcastle United to discover Premier League PSR fate after points deduction fear & £68m deal

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Newcastle United and the rest of the Premier League clubs will discover their Profitability and Sustainability Rules fate today.

On Tuesday, January 14, the Premier League will issue disciplinary charges to clubs who have broken financial rules for the 2021 to 2024 reporting period. Last summer, Newcastle scrambled to comply with PSR, selling Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson to Brighton and Nottingham Forest respectively in June.

Sales had to be made by the end of June to be reported in the 2024 calculations with Newcastle making a considerable profit on both players. The Magpies bought Minteh for £7million the previous summer and sold him for £33million though Odense were entitled to a 10% sell-on fee for the winger.

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Anderson was sold for pure profit as an academy graduate for £35million, a joint club-record sale. However, this was softened by the fact goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos moved in the opposite direction for £20million.

“What I will say is that trading is essential,” Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said. “Both in and out - to the model of PSR. The days where teams don't sell players are, unless your revenue streams are so big, are gone.

“So I think our revenue streams aren't where we want them to be.

"We are trying to grow them so I think trading in and out is going to be essential. Hopefully, it is not going to be players that we are forced to sell like we were in that situation [in June selling Anderson and Minteh] with a couple of days with deadlines approaching. Hopefully, it is a more stable setting but you can't guarantee anything.”

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Newcastle insists that the sales mean they are compliant with PSR and will not be one of the clubs facing disciplinary charges this week.

Last season, Everton were deducted eight points for two separate breaches of PSR while Forest were deducted four points. Both clubs were able to avoid relegation.

Yankuba Minteh in action for Brighton. Yankuba Minteh in action for Brighton.
Yankuba Minteh in action for Brighton.

PSR has been heavily criticised for stifling ambition and protecting the already established clubs with clubs unable to post losses of more than £105million over a three year period. Aston Villa argued that the allowable losses should be adjusted to reflect inflation.

The rules have ultimately limited the spending of clubs like Villa and Newcastle while an ambitious newly-promoted side like Forest were ultimately punished.

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While changes to the rules have been discussed, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has claimed the rules ‘preserve aspiration’ rather than restrict it.

“In the Premier League, we have a financial system that has been built up over time with some very clear objectives,” he told Sky Sports. “Not just the PSR system, but the way revenue and costs are distributed and the parachute system. They’re all designed to create a fantastic football competition that preserves aspiration.

“If you’re a fan of a newly promoted club, you know the parachute system will protect investment going forward. You have the ability to rise up and challenge for European competition and maybe, if you stay there, one day challenge for the league.

“If you have a third party coming in and regulating from the side, looking at clubs’ business plans and constraining their ability to invest, that worries us. We’ve always been pro-investment within measured risk.

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“The Premier League is not a pension fund. It’s a place where capital is at risk. There is no certainty of outcome. We worry that a new regulatory function might be risk-averse and inhibit clubs’ ability to invest.”

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