Nottingham Forest FFP deduction hands Newcastle United major transfer boost

Nottingham Forest must sell one of their star assets by June or risk another points deduction next season, according to reports.

And that could hand a major transfer boost to Newcastle United in their approach for midfield talisman Morgan Gibbs-White. The Magpies were understood to have been keeping tabs on the 24-year-old in January but were hamstrung by their own FFP/PSR restrictions.

Forest were deducted four points by the Premier League on Monday - plunging them into the relegation zone. This comes after the Tricky Trees admitted guilt for incurring losses of £105million over a three-year period.

In a strongly worded statement, Forest hit out that the current model prohibits “clubs outside of the small group at the very top end of the Premier League” from “realistically advancing up the football pyramid”. Officials at other top-flight clubs have aired their frustration at the regulations, with the winter transfer window seeing a £700million decrease in spending from the previous year.

The Times are now reporting that Forest must offload a star player before June 30 - when FFP/PSR begins a fresh accounting year - to avoid further punishment. Even if they go down, Premier League clubs must abide by the rules for the year following relegation.

Stars like Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga could be placed in the shop window to free up coffers for the balance sheet. This would almost certainly intrigue Newcastle, who were reportedly quoted around £60million for the former.

Forest chiefs may be forced to reduce their asking price to comply with FFP/PSR regulations. Gibbs-White arrived at the City Ground for £35 million almost two years ago as part of a heavy outlay following Premier League promotion.