Genuine question: what is the actual plan, and why can’t the Saudi clubs just loan them players for peanuts?
In under 18 months they’ve sold Isak, Tonali, Gordon, Trippier and Bruno is gone!,Eddie Howe walked out a few weeks before the season starts. The replacement is Jaissle from Al Ahli, and most of the reinvestment seems to be going on under-22 prospects rather than ready-made starters, with Liverpool up first. So what is this? A deliberate sell-and-develop reset, PSR forcing their hand, or a club that’s lost its way?
Second, the naive question I’ve never seen answered properly. The same PIF that owns Newcastle also owns the big Saudi Pro League clubs. Why can’t those clubs sign expensive players outright and loan them to Newcastle for a token fee with subsidised wages, so the cost never touches Newcastle’s PSR numbers? They literally just hired their manager out of a PIF club, so the pipeline clearly exists. I assume the associated party rules kill it, but can someone walk through the actual mechanics?