Kieran Maguire: £30m Newcastle deal gets green light amid Saudi ‘scrutiny’
Newcastle United are under ‘scrutiny’ due to their Saudi Arabia links but a £30million fee for Miguel Almiron is a fair value.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that Newcastle are aware that their transfer business with Saudi Arabia is being closely watched.
As revealed by Football Insider, Newcastle remain locked in advanced talks over a £30million deal for Almiron with Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab.
The Magpies are looking to offload the 29-year-old as they look to raise funds to comply with Premier League financial regulations.
Newcastle CEO Darren Eales admitted that star players might be sold after the club posted losses of £73million in 2022-23.
All transfers over £1million are subject to a Fair Market Value assessment which deems whether a transfer price is accurate and reasonable.
Maguire believes Almiron’s sale would be in the ‘upper limit’ but would face no issues when it comes to fair value despite the club’s links to Saudi Arabia.
“If you take a look at the other transactions that Newcastle have been involved with – Saint-Maximin was sold at a fair price,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“Newcastle are not stupid, they know that they are under a lot of scrutiny from a myriad of participants, observers and stakeholders in the game.
“Therefore, they’re not going to try to give anything to rival clubs.
“You’ve only got to look at Eddie Howe’s comments last week when he said ‘nobody likes us’.
“If Almiron was sold at £60million then there would be a pile on against the Fair Market Assessment.
“But I think at £30million they’re in the upper limit of a fair market price.“
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