Premier League rule could block Newcastle United from signing £18m midfielder as enquiry 'made'

Newcastle United have been linked with a move for Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos after his season-long loan spell at Nottingham Forest was cut short.

The Brazilian was closely monitored by the Magpies before his £18million switch to Stamford Bridge in March. Santos finished last season at Vasco da Gama before joining Forest on loan in the summer.

However, after making just two appearances, the Blues have taken the decision to recall Santos five months ahead of schedule. It's been suggested that Newcastle have lodged an enquiry but a deal seems to extremely unlikely.

As per Premier League rules "the maximum number of loans registrable in the same season is four, and, under no circumstances, shall more than one be from the same club at any one time." United already have one player on loan from Chelsea which, of course, is Lewis Hall. There is an obligation to make the move permanent for an initial £28m at the end of the season, if certain performance-related criteria is met.

Therefore, the only way Newcastle could register Santos is either by bringing Hall's deal forward, or indeed ending it altogether. The other alternative is to sign Santos permanently but that scenario almost certainly won't happen given Chelsea have only recently signed the highly-rated 19-year-old.

United head coach Eddie Howe is open to bolstering his midfield this month with Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips among the names heavily linked. Howe is without £52m summer signing Sandro Tonali as he serves an eight-month ban from football for illegal betting activity.