Newcastle United have confirmed that there is currently nothing to stop them from signing players from the Saudi Pro League in January as they consider options to replace the suspended Sandro Tonali.
90min exclusively revealed last month that the club’s owners – Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – were open to Newcastle signing players from the four Pro League clubs under their control – Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli.
Tonali’s 10-month ban for betting has left Newcastle with a gap to fill in their squad and one they were not anticipating, especially as they have Profit and Sustainability (formerly Financial Fair Play) concerns, so a loan deal is the ideal scenario for the Magpies.
Sporting director Dan Ashworth, the man who leads Newcastle’s recruitment, already had plans in place for January but they that did not feature a defensive midfielder as they were instead looking for a central defender and another forward.
Ashworth has now confirmed that they are already working hard at possible replacements, telling a press briefing: “We’ve got a number of things we can do.
“It might not be a like-for-like replacement for Sandro. It could be a player who can play in a different position or multiple positions. But obviously it is a blow losing Sandro. He was going to be one of our most influential players so we have to do everything in our power to make sure the squad is as competitive as possible going into the second half of the season.
“We do have a little bit of flexibility and we are able to look at the market. But there are lots of ways to do it. Whether it is a straight loan or a loan with an obligation or an option. You can sign a player and monetise it with a long contract. We are going to have to be quite creative, but we do want to be active.”
Ashworth was pushed on specific links with the Saudi Pro League and former Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves, the man understood to be their prime target if they do decide to take a PIF-owned player.
He was asked if there was anything to stop Newcastle from making such a move and he told the Daily Telegraph: “Currently no…the current rules and regulations say there is nothing to stop it, currently.”
However, Ashworth admitted that he did perceive such a move being unpopular and would not be well received by some in English football, adding: “There is a potential that the various different organisations will look at things across related parties and what you can do to acquire players at a fair market value, [although these] have already been in place for quite a while.”
Ashworth was also asked about Tonali himself as the Football Association are carrying out their own investigation into whether bets were also made during his time in England.
“All I can say to you is that we have fully cooperated with all of the associations and organisations concerned and the FA are, of course, fully aware of what’s going on. They are the ones who had to sanction the ban so we’re fully cooperating with everybody,” he continued.
Asked if the FA could impose a further ban on Tonali, Ashworth stated: “All I can deal with is the present and the facts. I can’t look into the future and, as I’ve said, we’ve cooperated fully with all of the organisations.”
He was also asked whether the club had looked into any recourse with Milan and the possibility of being able to claim money back, and he confirmed the club were working on their own investigation.
“It’s really difficult for me to get into what other clubs do or don’t know. All we can do is look at our own internal investigation and internal process. It’s a really difficult question for me to answer [whether Milan knew], I just don’t know,” Ashworth said.
It is understood that Tonali has agreed to take a drop in wages for the length of the ban, although the Newcastle chief did not confirm that was the case, stating: “Any player’s contract situation is private and confidential. All I can say is that Sandro has been outstanding since this has happened and has been fully collaborative. He’s been an outstanding professional in that context. Beyond that, I cannot comment.”
Milan, meanwhile, have refuted claims that they knew of Tonali’s addiction prior to selling him to Newcastle. In a statement to the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, they said: “We first learnt about Tonali’s addiction through media reports & what we know is only what we read. We don’t know anything else.”
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