Joe’s contract great business but brings Fair Play problems
EDDIE Howe has admitted that it would have been ‘really bad business’ if Newcastle United let Joelinton leave on a free – but the Brazil international’s new deal will have an impact on the club’s Financial Fair Play ‘sheet.’
Joelinton has committed his long-term future to Newcastle after putting pen to paper on a new four-year contract.
Howe was the first to admit that talks were ‘not straightforward’ during what was a ‘complex process,’ but the Magpies boss stressed that Joelinton’s message to him had ‘always been that he wanted to stay.’
Newcastle recognised that this was a ‘big contract’ for Joelinton, at a ‘pivotal moment in his career,’ as the midfielder approached the final 12 months of his original deal on terms below what other key players at the club now command.
Newcastle have been keen to maintain a tight wage structure, with an eye on both UEFA’s squad cost rule and, indeed, squad harmony, but there was an acceptance behind the scenes that Joelinton merited being one of the club’s top earners given his importance to the side.
This is a deal that will spare Newcastle a real headache this summer, when it comes to either trying to replace a player with a unique skillset or merely letting Joelinton’s contract run down, but the 27-year-old’s increased pay packet will still have to be factored into the club’s summer plans.
“It will have ramifications because you’re potentially lifting wages and that has an impact on your Financial Fair Play sheet, but the alternative is that Joe leaves on a free transfer, which for a player of his quality, would be really bad business for us,” Howe told reporters.
“So that has alleviated that problem, but it maybe gives you problems elsewhere that you need to fix.
“With Financial Fair Play now, there will be decisions made by every club that they don’t necessarily want to make.
“There will be players and transfers done from a manager’s perspective that maybe in former times they wouldn’t have happened.
“It’s difficult for me to give absolute clarity on what’s going to happen and what’s not going to happen. I don’t know, but Financial Fair Play will be something we have to be aware of this summer.”
Newcastle had the ninth highest wage bill in the Premier League last season, after spending £186.7m on salaries, and Leicester City and Aston Villa were among those sides who paid out more.
Man City led the way in the top-flight after spending a whopping £422.9m on wages, but this only represented 59% of the treble winners’ turnover given the club’s staggering revenues.
That is why it has been so important for Newcastle to continue to boost income streams this season, whether that was signing a lucrative new sponsorship deal with Adidas; banking the £37m the club expect to make from participating in the Champions League; playing post-season friendlies in Australia; or building a seven-day-a-week fan zone outside St James’ Park.
However much Newcastle’s wage bill has increased, though, it would have cost the Magpies a substantial transfer fee to replace Joelinton, who has been sorely missed during his spell on the sidelines.
Newcastle already had to be particularly smart to spread their budget this summer to strengthen several positions and Howe was the first to admit that Joelinton’s contract took away ‘a bit of the stress.’
“I’ve said this about a lot of the players we have,” he added.
“They’re not easy to find replacements for and
Joe would be one of those.
“He’s 6ft 3in, he plays different positions, he’s strong, he’s quick, he scores goals. He’s competitive. He’s got a great attitude.
“Those players are not around to recruit easily.
“That’s why we have got to treasure the ones we have and do everything we can to keep them happy so they want to play for Newcastle continually because replacing them sounds easy, but it’s absolutely not.”