Magpies could not resist £1 billion bid

Chief executive Darren Eales has admitted even Newcastle could not resist a “£1 billion” bid for one of their biggest names after reporting a loss of £73.4 million.

The Magpies, who are 80% owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, are considered one of the world’s richest football clubs, but like all their Premier League counterparts they have to operate within profit and sustainability rules.

Sporting director Dan Ashworth has insisted in the past that spending £200m a year on players – Amanda Staveley’s consortium has invested in excess of £400m in the squad since completing its takeover in October 2021 – is unsustainable, prompting speculation that the likes of Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes or Alexander Isak could be sold to fund future recruitment.

Asked about that possibility as he discussed the club’s financial figures for the year ending June 30 2023, Eales said: “It’s difficult to hypothesise, but if we’re offered £1 billion for one of those players, then no one could argue against that making sense.

“It’s difficult to say specifically on certain players, but I can say that, if we’re going to get to where we want to get to, at times it is necessary to trade your players.”

The latest figures, which show a loss after tax of £73.4m, but also how the club have grown off the pitch – turnover increased by £70.3m (39%) from £180m to £250.3m, while an operating loss of £26.4m was transformed into a profit of £20.1m.

The results do not include projected revenue of at least £37m from the club’s involvement in this season’s Champions League, nor income from new sponsorship deals with Sela and Adidas, and efforts to increase commercial revenue are ongoing with an expansion of the stadium one possibility.

● Manchester United misfit Jadon Sancho has joined Borussia Dortmund on loan for the remainder of the season.

The 23-year-old has been banished from the first team since publicly hitting out at manager Erik ten Hag following the Red Devils’ defeat at Arsenal in September. England international Sancho spent four seasons with the Bundesliga side from 2017 before joining United, where he had made 82 appearances and scored 12 goals.