Newcastle United could be set for an unexpected boost to their transfer kitty this summer as a result of the race for promotion in the Sky Bet Championship.
This is because of the immediate return to top flight action made by both Norwich City and Watford. As a result of both clubs bouncing back, they will not be receiving any of their parachute payments bonus that are set up to help clubs after relegation from the top flight.
The money that would have gone to these clubs is instead set to be distributed between Newcastle and the 19 other Premier League clubs and the sum could yet be bigger with AFC Bournemouth also looking like a decent bet to make a return at the first time of asking via the playoffs.
With the Canaries and Hornets promoted, the sum is estimated to be at around £4.8M per Premier League club and that could be used by Newcastle in the transfer window.
A combination of United’s tight nature under Mike Ashley, the ongoing takeover and of course the Covid-19 pandemic means that we are looking at a particularly small budget for the upcoming window so this could be a welcome boost to Steve Bruce and his recruitment team as they look to improve on a pretty horrendous season.
As per usual, Newcastle are one of the last clubs to release their yearly accounts and it is yet to be seen how big of an impact not having fans through the door has had on the club economically.
It is a pretty sorry state of affairs to have to be relying on this kind of payoff to get players in the door but it is the brutal reality of the Mike Ashley era and with the Londoner mentally checked out from the club as he waits on a takeover that may not happen, it may be as good as it gets for us.