Newcastle United’s £20m goalkeeper signing confirmed as FFP/PSR truth revealed
Newcastle United sold Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest to alleviate FFP/PSR pressures
Newcastle United paid £20million to sign Odysseas Vlachodimos from Nottingham Forest, according to reports.
A staggering fee that far exceeds his true value, the deal was part of the FFP/PSR “gerrymandering” to avoid a points deduction. Toon chiefs frantically scrambled over the June 30 deadline by selling Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh.
Eddie Howe was reluctant to sell either player - but especially Anderson - as he had broken into the first-team ranks. The Whitley Bay native joined the Magpies as an eight-year-old and played seven of the final nine Premier League games last season, with 26 appearances overall despite an injury-hit campaign.
Newcastle were set for an embarrassing points deduction before a bold decision was made to sell the pair. Minteh joined Brighton while Anderson left for Forest in a deal initially reported as being worth around £35million.
With the 21-year-old a homegrown player carrying zero book value, this allowed Newcastle to wriggle the FFP/PSR balance sheet in their favour. But signing Vlachodimos meant the deal, in reality, was only worth £15million.
The Telegraph have confirmed his transfer fee as being £20million - a high fee for a third-choice goalkeeper. Anthony Elanga is named as someone the Magpies wanted but Forest did not wish to lose a star player.
Vlachodimos is behind Nick Pope and Martin Dubravka in the pecking order, with Mark Gillespie and John Ruddy also on the books to complete a stacked department. The type of transfer has become common to bypass financial regulations, with Chelsea signing novice Omari Kellyman for £19million from Aston Villa and Ian Maatsen heading the other way.