Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has repeatedly stated that Financial Fair Play restrictions mean the Magpies are unlikely to do much business next month, but his stance may be challenged with Memphis Depay reportedly offered to St James’ Park. Newcastle are gunning to secure European football for the first time since 2013 after an impressive start to the campaign.
Over £200million has been spent over the past 12 months on building the squad Howe wants with the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak and Sven Botman impressing since joining. But with Newcastle failing to recoup any of that money through player sales, it means they’re currently restricted to what else they can do in the market over the next year.
Securing European football will be a huge help to balance the books at the club, but Newcastle will have to fend off a challenge from the likes of Tottenham, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea before the season ends. Howe’s side will be hoping to pick up where they left off when they take on Leicester on Boxing Day.
That’s followed by a home match against Leeds before the January transfer window officially opens. And even though Howe has maintained his belief that Newcastle won’t do much business next month, there could be a golden opportunity to bolster their frontline.
Isak, Callum Wilson and Chris Wood make up Howe’s central options, but he’s short of alternatives out wide. Depay can either play on the left or in the middle and could be a versatile option in Howe’s squad.
According to Sport, Barcelona are keen to offload Depay next month to try and fetch a small fee before the Dutchman can leave for free in the summer. It’s said that Barcelona have directly approached Newcastle to offer them Depay and they would accept a bid in the region of £13m.
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Newcastle are said to be ‘very interested’ in making the deal happen, but it would potentially prove a challenging deal to pull off. Despite Newcastle’s new-found riches, the club are mindful of not being tripped up down the line for any FFP infringements.
Player sales may be the only way for Newcastle to work around their limitations with a number of stars facing questions over their futures. Jamal Lascelles, Matt Ritchie, Jamal Lewis and Ryan Fraser have all been linked with moves away from St James’ Park.
But Howe will also want his business done early in the January transfer window so as to not disrupt any momentum.
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