We could be set for a spending spree of up to £200m this summer to help kickstart our Saudi revolution, according to The Chronicle.
This comes via Lee Ryder, who hints a large transfer kitty will be available to whoever is at the helm under the new regime; who are widely expected to be named our official new owners ‘this week’.
The piece also states that the would-be new owners plan to hand the club’s full profits to their man at the helm – something former managers could only dream of under Mike Ashley.
Ryder’s latest report also says that Staveley & Co will look to build a team that become ‘top six contenders’ within ‘four or five windows’, giving us a realistic model to help build the club up properly via substantial and consistent investment over a series of years.
Four or five windows translates to around two years, and as it took Man City just three years to crack the top four, it looks like we could be set for some heavy spending.
We have been linked with some superstar names such as Coutinho, Bale and Koulibaly in recent weeks, which all seems a tad premature and imaginary until the takeover is completed.
Financial fair play regulations have been a talking point in the media, but with Ashley overall spending being low (that’s putting it lightly!) and us tending to run on a tight ship in recent seasons, it gives us room to play in the transfer market before those rules would become a concern.
Increased advertising revenue would also boost the clubs income – something Ashley has never made use of during his time on Tyneside.
My belief is that the value of players will take a hit, allowing us to exploit it somewhat with our new found wealth. Barcelona are rumoured to be on the verge of making all players take a 30% pay cut, an action that has already taken place at some Italian clubs, while the valuationg of several star players is expected to plummet.
Would they really be demanding the full buck for Coutinho? Teams will be desperate to sell.
Fingers crossed it goes through this week!
