With Newcastle United spending a fair bit of money so far to bolster Eddie Howe’s squad, there will come a point where some sales will need to take place to balance the books.
The recent acquisition of Sven Botman for a reported €40m clearly put a dent in everything, especially after the purchases of Matt Targett and Nick Pope.
That’s why it isn’t surprising to see Nice-Matin claim that Newcastle need to ‘deal with Financial Fair-Play (FFP)’ before making another move for their defence.
The player they are referring to is Benoit Badiashile, another left-footed centre-back whom they were ‘ready to drop €45m on’ in January.
It’s made clear they are ‘still following’ him, but they also face top competition in the shape of Manchester United, Chelsea, Sevilla and Atlético Madrid.
As for Badiashile in all this, it’s said he won’t clash with AS Monaco, his current club, to force a transfer, and if he were to move, he wouldn’t just go anywhere.
The 21-year-old will want a club where he can play regularly, but for that to happen, whoever wants him will have to spend a lot.
Monaco aren’t exactly in need of cash after the big sale of Aurélien Tchouameni, meaning that €50-60m is their asking price.
Newcastle probably have the money for that, as we all know, but they’ll need to be careful with FFP matters as well.
