Newcastle United's drastic action to avoid major points deduction on frantic weekend

Newcastle United hope they have done enough to avoid a major points deduction after a hectic 72 hours of trading to fulfil their profit and sustainability [PSR] obligations. The Magpies are unlikely to learn whether they have in fact met their financial requirements until early next year due to the nature of the current rules - but St James' Park chiefs spent a frantic weekend attempting to ensure their spending void was filled.

Newcastle have spent big in previous windows, while recouping a fraction of those spending costs on outgoing players such as Chris Wood and Allan Saint-Maximin. The 2021/22 financial accounts, which are now out of sight in terms of PSR, represented the season the club spent big on the likes of Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn, Matt Targett and Wood - and played a big role in the panic of recent days.

After seeing what happened to Everton and Nottingham Forest in terms of points deductions, there was concern on Tyneside that Newcastle would be hit with a major punishment for such a black hole in their finances, thought to be around £50m.

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As such, Yankuba Minteh was offered to a range of clubs, along with Elliot Anderson. Both youngsters left the club for eye-watering fees given their relative inexperience. Minteh's Brighton move is thought to have cost the south coast outfit £33m, while Anderson's Nottingham Forest move was sealed at £35m, with Newcastle landing goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos as part of the switch.

The deals were all confirmed in the early hours of Monday morning, as July 1st and the start of a new financial year arrived.

The last week saw Chelsea test Newcastle's resolve for Alexander Isak, while Anthony Gordon's services were reluctantly offered to Liverpool. Bruno Guimaraes' release clause expired with no offers for his signature.

Newcastle will no doubt have learned lessons from recent days and will hope to never find themselves in a similar position going forward. Thankfully, the club's mega Adidas deal will now be added to the balance sheet, while the aim is to find a training kit sponsor to boost finances further. There is also the possibility a training ground or stadium naming rights sponsor emerges in the future.