Newcastle United loan exit imminent & medical booked after controversial Nottingham Forest agreement
Newcastle United goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos is set to leave the club on loan.
The 31-year-old Greek international has travelled to Spain to complete his medical and finalise a season-long loan to La Liga side Sevilla.
Vlachodimos joined Newcastle from Nottingham Forest for £20million last summer, a club-record fee paid for a goalkeeper. But the former Benfica No. 1 was limited to just 45 minutes of competitive football in his first season at Newcastle as he came on as a substitute for the injured Martin Dubravka in the 1-0 Carabao Cup win over AFC Wimbledon at St James’ Park.
Newcastle went on to win the Carabao Cup with Vlachodimos being handed a winners' medal for his contributions during the season. Although Dubravka has since left the club to join Burnley, Aaron Ramsdale’s arrival has kept Vlachodimos down the pecking order.
The goalkeeper has been made available for a loan move with Sevilla swooping to strike a deal. Vlachodimos had proposals to join the Saudi Pro League with Al-Shabab, making an offer back in January but the player’s preference was to remain in Europe.
Valencia and Villarreal were also credited with an interest in Vlachodimos but Sevilla have won the race for his signature. Newcastle had already approved a loan exit for Vlachodimos this summer but stopped short of a permanent transfer.
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Newcastle United block permanent transfer exit for Odysseas Vlachodimos
Newcastle’s £20million move for Vlachodimos last summer has been the subject of some scrutiny and controversy as it was part of a double deal that helped both Newcastle and Nottingham Forest comply with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules.
The Magpies signed Vlachodimos for an inflated fee while Elliot Anderson went in the opposite direction for £35million. Although that was seen as an inflated fee at the time for Anderson, he has since proved his value to Forest while Vlachodimos has hardly even made the bench for Newcastle.
Although officially two separate transfers, the move has been dubbed a ‘PSR swap’ as it helped both clubs avoid a potential points deduction.
But due to the high transfer fee paid for Vlachodimos, Newcastle have ruled out selling him at a cut-price deal after just a year as it would have negative ramifications when it comes to PSR calculations. Unless Newcastle could recoup a significant amount of the £20million paid for Vlachodimos, selling him this summer would be calculated as a significant loss in PSR terms.
As such, a loan exit works out best for all parties though Newcastle are still feeling the impact of last summer’s PSR predicament.
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Eddie Howe on Odysseas Vlachodimos
Although Vlachodimos hasn’t started a competitive game for Newcastle, head coach Eddie Howe has praised the goalkeeper’s conduct behind the scenes and on the training ground.
Last season, Howe said: “He's been excellent behind the scenes. He's a really, lovely lad, a really nice person, he's got a really nice way about him, very smiley, happy.
“But you can see he's driven and he's a vastly experienced goalkeeper, so I think he's added a lot to the training group. He's been actively involved in all the training that we've done and he's become a really well liked member of the team, well-liked member of the goalkeeping team, but also the first team.
“So he's been excellent with his conduct around the building.”