Premier League clubs ‘voice concern’ over £30m Newcastle United transfer deal

Premier League clubs will ‘voice’ their concerns over Allan Saint-Maximin’s imminent transfer to Al-Ahli to the Premier League - according to The Athletic reporter David Ornstein. Saint-Maximin is set to leave Newcastle after four years at the club to join Al-Ahli for a reported £30m fee.

And despite Saint-Maximin being hardly the first player to switch the Premier League for Saudi Arabia this summer, this transfer has seemingly divided the league. The Athletic report that the clubs in question will ask the Premier League to ‘explain how it establishes market value’ when they sanction transfers between clubs.

The Premier League scrutinises every transfer worth more than £1m to ensure that the deal reflects market value and Saint-Maximin’s transfer will be no exception. However, the concerns from other clubs relate to PIF, who own 80% of Newcastle United and took a controlling stake in Al-Ahli last month, and the possibility that the Magpies can inflate a transfer fee and help them against Financial Fair Play constraints.

Speaking about interest in Saint-Maximin, Eddie Howe said: “Nothing is confirmed, nothing is done. But that’s why he wasn’t here today. With Financial Fair Play you have to trade, for us we were stuck in a position where we could not trade players the other way.

“That’s how FFP works. We understand that. Maxi is a top player and we definitely don’t want to lose him we want to strengthen the group. Sometimes these things happen and we have to accept that.”

According to the report, Newcastle are ‘very comfortable’ with Saint-Maximin’s valuation.