Given that Premier League clubs are scheduled to vote later this month on the potential of outlawing loan transfers between affiliated teams, it’s safe to say that Newcastle United supporters feel they have strained some feelings recently. At the Premier League’s next board meeting, the 20 top-tier teams will discuss the issue. For the interim limit to take effect, 14 teams must vote in favor of it.
When Premier League teams vote on a proposal this month, Newcastle United might not be allowed to sign players from Saudi clubs.
According to the proposed resolution, Newcastle would be unable to recruit any players from teams like Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli, and Al-Ittihad that are controlled by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. The measure was proposed at a time when Eddie Howe’s team was still being linked to an Al-Hilal loan for Ruben Neves.
Dan Ashworth, the sporting director of Newcastle, tested the waters a few days prior to the vote plans becoming public to see what kind of response it would elicit. When asked about the prospect of signing Saudi Pro League players, he told reporters, “The current rules and regulations say there is nothing to stop it.” There’s a chance that separate organizations will consider issues involving linked parties and your options to acquire players at a fair market value.
But will Newcastle’s possible January intentions be derailed by the vote? Given the obvious disdain other clubs have shown for the north east outfit in recent months, those who lean black and white will tell you they think the motion will pass 19 to 1 in favor of the proposals being offered.
But the answer becomes less obvious when one looks more closely at Newcastle’s Premier League rivals and their affiliated partners. Use Manchester United as an illustration.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe will own Nice, a French team, and the Red Devils in a minority capacity if his £1.3 billion acquisition of a 25% share in the team is successful. According to a story published in this week’s Sun, Erik ten Hag’s team is eager to recruit Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo, a move that may eventually result in a ban.
Should 777 Partners’ proposed takeover of Everton succeed, it would also have an effect because the company owns teams in France, Belgium, Germany, and Brazil, among other places.
The Colorado Rapids are an MLS team owned by Stan Kroenke, the owner of Arsenal, and Aston Villa with properties in Portugal, Egypt, and Japan. The American owner of Bournemouth recently acquired stock in Lorient, a French team.
Tony Bloom is the owner of both Brighton and Union Saint-Gilloise, a Belgian team with which Brighton has had substantial business. Chelsea, meanwhile, considered Strasbourg, a member of Ligue 1, as a perfect feeder club because the French squad is owned by parent firm BlueCo.
And lastly, Daniel Kretinsky, a co-owner of West Ham, is the chairman of Grasshoppers in Austria, which is owned by Wolves’ Fosun International and Sparta Prague. That leaves the six elite teams—Brentford, Burnley, Fulham, Liverpool, Luton, and Tottenham—as the ones who will most likely decide to vote against approving related loans.
Eddie Howe, for his part, is just willing to sign players from any team as long as they bolster Newcastle’s roster. “There is no change, we will work within the rules the Premier League set and we have to respect those rules, whatever they are,” he stated last week.
The initiative needs the support of 14 clubs in order to move forward, and the vote is scheduled on November 21. It would only be a temporary solution until a permanent plan is in place before the summer transfer window, and it would only prohibit incoming loans rather than exiting ones.
John Textor, a co-owner of Crystal Palace, holds stakes in both Belgian team Molenbeek and struggling French team Lyon. Owner Evangelos Marinakis divides his time between Olympiakos, a Greek team, and Nottingham Forest, a Premier League team.
With 13 clubs owned by Abu Dhabi’s City Football Group, Manchester City has amassed a sizable global network of football clubs. In addition to Sheffield United, other teams that Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud, the Saudi owner, holds stakes in include Beerschot, a Belgian team, and Kerala United, an Indian team.
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