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Newcastle United: Football finance expert provides investment verdict amid PIF deal

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Image for Newcastle United: Football finance expert provides investment verdict amid PIF deal

Football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley has given his verdict on Newcastle United’s world-record loan received by the club’s majority owners, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Arab News reported that at the end of November, they acquired £14bn in new funds in a seven-year unsecured agreement.

On the pitch, Newcastle are riding high so far this season. They’re third in the Premier League and seven points behind league leaders Arsenal, sharing the joint-best defensive record in the league alongside the Gunners, having only let in 11 goals.

It was back in October 2021 when PIF, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media completed the acquisition of the club.

And speaking to Football Insider about the latest development, Plumley was left astounded by the enormity of PIF’s wealth and how they are utilising it.

He said: “It is further confirmation that they are on a different level to anything we have seen within the sport.

“I think it shows their financial power and falls in line with their strategy in terms of trying to diversify their funding sources.

“So, yes, it fits with the model and the numbers are staggering. It just shows how much their wealth outstrips anything else we have ever seen in football.”

TIF Thoughts on Plumley’s comments…

We believe that there are exciting times around the corner for Newcastle United. It appears as if the club will be heavily backed financially for the long term.

The Magpies have already spent some big money since the takeover. In January, they signed Bruno Guimaraes for £40m. However, the spending didn’t stop there, as they spent around £35m on Sven Botman in the summer – but the record fee was still to come, with £63m being splashed out on striker Alexander Isak.

Meanwhile, there is a possibility that level of spending could continue in January. James Maddison is one player that has been linked with the Magpies, with the Northern Echo claiming he’s their No 1 target.

However, Eddie Howe did recently play down the idea of a winter spree due to FFP concerns.

That said, it’s clear that the latest investment could hand Newcastle the means to spend handsomely. However, it won’t just go all on transfers, you suspect that some of the money will go into improving their youth academy.

Clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City have found success in producing some of the best English talents. Newcastle could well use their youth academy as an avenue to generate more money back into the club.

So this investment could have an impact on a number of different factors at Newcastle United, whether it be on transfers or in other areas behind the scenes, and we agree with Plumley that it seems the new-look Magpies are here to stay – and in a really big way.

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