Newcastle United

Newcastle United: Journalist issues interesting PIF transfer claim

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Image for Newcastle United: Journalist issues interesting PIF transfer claim

Newcastle United’s owners are showing their strength in negotiating for transfer targets this summer by not stumping up astronomical fees for the players they want. 

This is what TalkSPORT journalist Alex Crook has said whilst speaking live on air about the latest dealings in the summer transfer window.

Although the window only officially opened last week, a number of clubs like Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur made some early progress to bolster their squads.

However, the Toon have only been able to make Matt Targett’s loan deal a permanent one so far, with a number of targets believed to be in the works.

Sven Botman is a player the Toon are believed to be targeting, but are struggling to find an agreement with his parent club, and Crook believes this is because the Saudi-based owners are not willing to pay through the nose this summer.

He said: “I was speaking to somebody last night [Monday] about Newcastle, not necessarily about this [Botman] deal in particular, but despite the fact they’ve got the Saudi cash, they’re not willing to pay over the odds for players.

“We saw that in January. If they think that teams are adding on a so-called ‘Newcastle tax’, they will just walk away from deals, and they’re threatening to do just that when it comes to Sven Botman.”

TIF Thoughts on Crook’s comments…

We find this really interesting given it is the first summer these new owners have had on Tyneside and it is apparent they are setting their stall out for future windows already.

Should NUFC just pay the £36m for Botman?

Yes

Yes

No

No

And we think the owners are right for doing so, as it may help prevent them being ripped off in years to come, however, we think there has to be a balance to this.

Botman is clearly a player who they want and feel will improve their squad, with his price believed to be raised by £6m – is that really worth potentially missing out on him?

Paying £36m for a young, top-level centre-back who still has three years on his deal with Lille does not seem like an extortionate deal, and we think the Toon could well live to regret it if they do miss out on the 22-year-old.

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