David Hopkinson drops Newcastle United summer transfer hint - supporters won't like it
Newcastle United CEO David Hopkinson was asked about the summer transfer window.
Newcastle United will finalise their summer transfer plans once their Premier League position becomes clearer.
Newcastle chiefs are currently planning for two scenarios: Europe or no Europe. Sitting 12th in the league table with seven matches left to play, Champions League qualification is regarded as a long shot - seven points is the current gap - but the Europa League or Conference League is still viewed as achievable.
Whatever happens between now and May will have a big say on not just incomings but outgoings too, with the likes of Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento already linked with a summer exit.
David Hopkinson on Newcastle United’s summer transfer plans
"First off, we've got seven matches to go and we don't know what regulatory regime we are going to be operating in,” CEO David Hopkinson replied when asked about plans for the summer. “If the season ended today, we'd be outside European competition, although that is not our ambition.
“What I can tell you is that Ross [Wilson], Simon [Capper], Eddie [Howe] and myself, everybody who is attached, are working through what our strategy is this summer in either scenario.
"We are not prepared to comment on how we might be operating on signings right now, other than we all agree we need to be prepared for either scenario, deeply and extensively now, as opposed to waiting to see which scenario we are in."
"We are not ready to answer that,” Hopkinson added. “We've got to see what scenario we're in, and we've got to see what opportunities present themselves within the marketplace.
“What I will tell you is we intend to be as disciplined, active, thoughtful and proactive as we possibly can, but what's the outcome going to be? I couldn't begin to tell you.”
David Hopkinson drops hint - and Newcastle United supporters won’t like it
Hopkinson was asked if Newcastle could make a ‘box office’ signing this summer, to which he replied: "We can do that.” But the CEO then paused, delivering a second part to the answer that supporters won’t like: “But we might not be able to do that without selling somebody."
Close to £750million has been spent on new signings since the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia-led consortium purchased the club in October 2021, but there is an acceptance that the level of spending can’t continue without player sales.
In the last two accounting years, the Magpies have come close to breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), first being forced to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh before selling the St James’ Park leasehold and some adjacent land to a subsidiary company controlled by their PIF and RB Sports & Media ownership.
The pressure to trade will only increase with the absence of European football - the Champions League in particular - but Hopkinson insists sales will only be sanctioned on the club’s terms.
Hopkinson said: “We haven’t got an overall strategy with regards to players out, necessarily. We think through what players might or might not want to do this summer.
“But if an [Alexander] Isak-like scenario presents itself again, any player under contract is going to leave on our terms and we’re going to maximise the opportunity that might represent for the club.”