Newcastle forced into £170m firesale as new financial concerns confirmed
Newcastle United were pushed towards accepting huge offers for both Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali by fresh financial concerns.
The Magpies were handed a £5.2million fine by UEFA for breaching financial sustainability regulations, raising new doubts about the club's ability to spend big.
Two massive sales worth £170million were sanctioned as a result of those concerns, and while they were reluctant to lose players, there is a belief that their departures were necessary.
As I revealed on the latest edition of Football Insider's Transfer Insider podcast, the impact of UEFA's restrictions has already started to become clear in Newcastle's transfer plans.
Having failed to qualify for any European competitions ahead of the coming season, the Magpies will not be concerned about UEFA's restrictions for the time being.
However, the club are keen to remain in line with any financial regulations, meaning they could face yet another transfer window where spending will be limited.
How will UEFA's financial restrictions impact Newcastle?
Former Everton CEO Keith Wyness told Football Insider last month that UEFA are making an example out of Newcastle, with the body keen to crack down on clubs overspending.
This comes following a number of frustrating transfer windows since PIF's takeover of Newcastle, with constant limits on spending and transfers heavily impacting their ambitions.
Those regulations have now seen Newcastle pushed into selling key players for big fees, and they will now hope to have a bit more room to manoeuvre in the market.
Speaking on the Transfer Insider podcast, I explained: "Newcastle have already been impacted by these restrictions because they've had to sell two of their best players.
"Obviously, there's no UEFA competition for Newcastle next season, so those squad ratio rules which UEFA are very tight on won't apply for next season.
"That, Newcastle hope, will give them a bit more breathing space, but it's been the case for a while now that, despite being owned by PIF, they've not been able to spend what they could.
"But look, those two big departures will free up a bit of money for Eddie Howe to strengthen the squad and they'll be hoping that a lot of that money will go into new signings."
Newcastle urged to stop mass exodus after new sales
Despite having already agreed to two big-money departures, speculation surrounding the futures of Newcastle's big-name players this summer has continued to grow.
Bruno Guimaraes, for example, continues to be linked with a move to Arsenal after the Gunners made an enquiry for his signature last month.
As a result, former scout Bryan King told Football Insider that Newcastle must stop the mass exodus of players and focus on brigning more stability to St James' Park.
Instead, they have been urged to focus on bringing players in to strengthen the squad and bounce back after what proved to be a disappointing season.
There is a belief that major investment in the starting XI will be needed if Newcastle want to compete in Europe again, while they must stop losing key players.