Howe insists Newcastle have "no advantage" despite access to Saudi loan stars
Eddie Howe has branded the controversy surrounding Newcastle signing players from Saudi Arabian clubs as “strange” - and insisted they “have no advantage.”
The Newcastle chief has been disappointed his club has been singled out and debated after Premier League rivals failed to get a new rule banning loan deals between clubs with the same owners this week. Howe claims that Newcastle are no different from other Premier League clubs in being in a multi-club model, 11 owning teams in other leagues.
But rivals were concerned Newcastle could use the Saudi Pro League as a cheap back door route to signing big stars and plugging gaps in their squad caused by an injury crisis in January. Newcastle’s owners, the PIF - the Saudi state investment fund - own four clubs in the Saudi Pro League - which spent £700 last summer alone on top world stars.
Al-Hilal spent £320m alone, with Al-Ahil splashing around £180m, and Al-Ittihad (£100m) and Al-Nassr £100m. It opened up the possibility of the PIF effectively negotiating with itself to send a player to Newcastle on loan, with a galaxy of talent to pick from.
Global superstars Neymar - currently a long-term injury victim - was Al-Hilal’s biggest buy at £90m. Aymeric Laporte, Ruben Neves, Spanish under-21 star Gabri Veiga and Karim Benzema are all owned by PIF clubs. Howe said: “I found it a bit strange that the focus has been solely on us. Every club has a right to vote how they want to vote and it hasn't gone through so it's not just about us.
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“There is no advantage in my eyes, we are the same as every other Premier League club. It is the same for everyone. I understand the focus being on us but it is not solely on us. We can recruit from a league.”
Asked “for clarity” whether he was prepared to sign a player from a Saudi club, Howe said: “It’s not even in our thoughts at this moment in time. As I said, at the start of the season, January was not a window that we were looking to invest in.
“It would only be a reaction to the injuries that we have and whether we need to recruit because the majority of our players would be back in January, at this moment in time we don’t know.
Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves has been linked with a loan move to Newcastle (Getty Images)“It was a Premier League vote and the majority of clubs in the league own clubs around the world. We had a view. Voted our way and the vote came out. I am relaxed about it. It is not the be all and end all . We have a squad we really like. Get players fit and the need to recruit will be less intense for us.”
Decision on January recruitment will be made around Christmas when they know if they are still in European competition and the Carabao Cup. Alexander Isak could return against Chelsea, with Callum Wilson also out, along with Sven Botman, Sean Longstaff, Harvey Barnes and Sandro Tonali.
Howe added: “It’s hard to make any kind of decision (in January) as I sit here now because the squad could look very different by January 1. The squad could look a lot stronger.
“I say ‘could’ because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the next few weeks. In general, I’m against making short-term decisions unless we absolutely have to. Last January, we invested in Anthony Gordon, who we really believed could be a top talent here for many, many years. He was the right personality at that time to improve the squad.
“I think they’re the types of signings that we want to be making. Certainly, if you rewind a few months there wouldn't have been any desire to invest in January so this would be reactive to our situation."
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