Newcastle to exploit PSR loophole? – Premier League meeting leaves door wide open

From forcing key player sales like Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson, to leaving Eddie Howe without a first team signing in three years, it’s a minor miracle that we’ve been able to compete as well as we have with PSR in place.

But could things all be about to change, and have Newcastle just been handed a golden opportunity to finally take advantage of some outdated rules?

A motion by the Premier League to close a controversial PSR loophole has failed to come to pass, inviting clubs to continue selling their assets to sister companies and third parties.

According to The Times’ Martyn Ziegler, Wednesday’s summit between all 20 clubs failed to bring about the change the league wanted to see.

“Sources said it became clear that there was not enough support in the room for the proposal and so it was not put to a vote. It would have needed 14 of the 20 clubs to vote in favour to allow the rule change to be passed.”

Chelsea have benefitted immensely from the loophole, selling hotels and their own women’s team to a sister company of their owners BlueCo, allowing it to avoid strict penalties.

The general sentiment seems to be that because Chelsea, one of the league’s ‘Big Six’, has been able to benefit, then the other clubs shouldn’t have to suffer and should be able to exploit the system as they so please.

For some time now, fans have questioned why the club haven’t gone to the same lengths as the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City when it comes to PSR-friendly measures like lucrative sponsorships and sellable assets.

But now, have we been given a golden ticket to announce some promising new deals and sales that would enable us to properly act in the upcoming transfer market?

As optimistic as we may like to be, one would imagine the club is looking at the ongoing Chelsea situation with extreme caution.

Although Enzo Marseca’s side have been able to narrowly avoid PSR violations for the last two seasons, the Premier League hasn’t yet approved the value Chelsea assigned to their women’s team.

Additionally, UEFA does not allow the sale of such assets in regards to their own financial rules, meaning Chelsea could still face punishment outside of the Premier League if found guilty of overspending according to UEFA’s standards.

Wednesday’s meeting should be the sign that Newcastle’s hierarchy have been hoping for. More and more clubs find the system outdated, and now could be the time for the club with the richest owners in world football to truly act like it.