8 months ago
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Eddie Howe refused to rule out big-name departures at Newcastle as the club feel the pressure of Financial Fair Play.
The Magpies manager's comments come after CEO Darren Eales revealed that they may have to sell star talent to comply with strict financial rules.
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Newcastle announced losses of £73.4million in their latest financial results, with Eales hinting that every player has a price tag due to the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Top-flight clubs are forbidden from posting deficits of £105m or more over three years - and Newcastle enter the final year of that cycle having lost £150m.
Speaking exclusively to Jim White for talkSPORT, Howe echoed Eales' comments about how the club are likely to behave in upcoming transfer windows.
"Yeah I knew that Darren was going to speak to the media regarding our financial situation because our accounts were released yesterday," Howe said.
"I don't think there's any surprise in that because every football club will have to trade now with Financial Fair Play being such a prominent part of football.
"So selling players and trading is part of what every football club is going to have to do and we're no different. So whether it's our top players as you quote, that remains to be seen but selling players and trading will be part of football going forward now I think."
White suggested Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes or Sven Botman as potential players who could be sold, and asked if such sales would be replaced with similar big names should they happen.
"It's difficult to comment on individual players," Howe responded as his club prepare for what could be a busy summer of transfer activity.
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"But as I said, player trading, if you look at Manchester City, Arsenal, etc, they've all traded players, not necessarily between each other but they've all traded players in recent windows.
"We've done that to an extent with Allan Saint-Maximin, a player we didn't want to sell but we had to last summer [to Al Ahli] and that will continue to be the case as I say. That then gives you the opportunity to keep things fresh and recruit players the other way."
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The latest news could come as a cause for concern for Newcastle fans, who have seen their squad grow in quality and qualify for the Champions League since Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund completed their takeover in 2021.
It's been reported that the club want to sign Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke this month, but Howe hinted on Friday in his press conference that they can't afford to buy him: “It’s a frustrating story.
"I love Solanke, I signed him for Bournemouth and rate him very highly. But we have not made an inquiry for him and we don’t have the ability to sign a player of that level.”
However, Howe told White that he and the club will do their very best to keep the squad competitive, although they must ensure that they follow financial fair play rules.
The manager added: "My intention is to improve the squad, not weaken the squad in every window. I will do everything in my power to try and make sure that we're progressive, ambitious and continuing to try and improve.
"But, in the background of course, the financial people at the football club have got to make sure that we don't breach Financial Fair Play.
"That's imperative now, especially with what's happened to Everton [deducted ten points by the Premier League for breaching financial rules], so I think that will be in every football club's mind."
