Last June, the Magpies were forced into a last-gasp scramble that saw them sell Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest and Yankuba Minteh to Brighton in order to avoid a potential points penalty for breaching PSR rules.
Twelve months on, and the Magpies’ improved financial situation means they do not find themselves in a position where they need to sell ahead of June 30 to remain on the right side of the Premier League’s regulations.
However, there are strong suggestions that a number of other top-flight clubs will have to offload players if they are to avoid a breach of PSR rules, with Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest rumoured to be in a difficult position as they look to avoid being deducted points.
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Newcastle have not made a signing that has improved the starting XI in any of the last three transfer windows, but that is set to change this summer. And while the bulk of the club’s business is likely to come later in the close season, Howe has confirmed the club are closely monitoring the situation ahead of the PSR deadline.
“I’ve made it clear last year that there’s almost two transfer windows now,” said the Newcastle boss, whose side head to Brighton on Sunday.
“The PSR deadline plays a huge role for clubs – both those clubs with PSR issues and those without, because those without may potentially look to try to sign players. They will look to take advantage of other clubs, as clubs did to us last year, quite rightly.
“It’s a really interesting dynamic, and one that we’re really aware of and that we’ll try to use to our advantage if we can.
“I can’t go into the details of that, but no doubt we’ve got people at the club who are working very hard behind the scenes on it.”
The transfer regulations have changed this year, with a new window having been created at the start of next month.
Clubs will be able to make transfers between June 1-10, largely to allow teams that are set to compete at FIFA’s new Club World Cup to strengthen their squads ahead of the state of the tournament in the United States.
The change also allows a club like Newcastle to make early transfer inroads, though, even if Howe insists securing the right deal is more important than pushing through an early one.
“It’s great the window opens on June 1,” he said. “The challenge for us is to sign players early June. But it doesn’t work like that. I hope that is what the reality is, but it rarely works like that.
“It gets harder and harder to sign really good players, and I’d rather sign the right player than settle for someone and get them in early. Let’s wait and see – it’s very difficult to predict what’s going to happen.”
