Newcastle have been restricted by the profit and sustainability rules (PSR) in recent campaigns, having been forced to balance the books with the sales of young players.

Eddie Howe has been working alongside new chief executive David Hopkinson and sporting director Ross Wilson on Newcastle’s recruitment strategy, with the pair both joining the club over the past few months.

Speaking on talkSPORT on 4 February, Hopkinson revealed Newcastle could have signed players in January, but they didn’t find the right opportunity.

It is the second mid-season window in a row where the Magpies have failed to make any new additions.

Why Newcastle are ‘constrained’ by Uefa spending rules

Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Newcastle’s Saudi owners have been “very restrained” with their transfer spending.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which took over at St James’ Park in October 2021, has injected cash into Newcastle in recent months, but none of that money went on January signings.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Hopkinson’s latest reveal, Borson said: “Well, I think it’s strange. They’ve sold Isak, so they’ve definitely not got PSR problems, which he confirmed, but which we knew already.

“They will fail the Uefa tests, and they will be in a settlement period with the Uefa, but there’s not a lot they can do about that. That is going to constrain them a little bit, right? 

“I wouldn’t suggest for one minute that they can just do what they like, but they have not been particularly aggressive, given what we know about Saudi spend on other sports.

“They’ve been very restrained, and they’ve gone into January not really expecting to sign anybody despite being in four trophies, and one semi-final. This was at the start of the month.” 

How Newcastle are suffering from ‘poor’ January

Borson insisted Newcastle had plenty to play for at the start of January, but their performances have dipped in recent weeks.

“They were in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup,” said Borson.

“They were well positioned in the Champions League and they’ve now ended up in the play-offs. They could have got automatic in the Champions League, but the top and bottom of it is, they go into January, they know they’ve got loads of meaningful games in the second half of season. 

“At the start of January, the league table would have had them very close to the top five. They’re now a bit further behind because they’ve had a poor January.”

Newcastle were beaten 3-2 by Brentford on Saturday (7 February), with Howe’s side dropping to 12th in the Premier League table.

Meanwhile, the Magpies will take on Qarabag in their Champions League knock-out round play-off fixture this month.

For more Newcastle and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.