Can Saudi Pro League players join Newcastle on loan? | OneFootball

Saudi Arabia dominated the discourse during the 2023 summer transfer window but the Middle Eastern country has been at the centre of the discussion when it comes to Newcastle United for a couple of years now.

The Premier League side is majority-owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is essentially the wealth fund of the ruling party in Saudi Arabia. While the club have gone to great lengths to show why it is not as simple as saying Newcastle are a state-run club, there are various reasons as to why many people aren't buying it.

With so many quality players heading to the Saudi Pro League last summer to take advantage of the obscene wages on offer, there have been concerns that Newcastle will be well situated to take players on loan from those clubs as part of an elaborate transfer network.

Here's everything you need to know about the legality of any future deals.

Why could Newcastle benefit from the Saudi Pro League's spending power?

Eddie Howe's Newcastle could be boosted by a winter arrival from Saudi Arabia / Matt McNulty/GettyImages

The fact that Newcastle are owned by PIF was already a point of concern, but it got more controversial when the sovereign wealth fund acquired a 75% share in four of the biggest clubs in Saudi Arabia last summer. Al Ahli, Al Hilal, Al Nassr and Al Ittihad are all owned by the same body that makes the decisions at Newcastle.

Players like Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Firmino, N'Golo Kante, Marcelo Brozovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves and many more are on the books of those Saudi clubs.

Understandably, fans have pointed out that Newcastle have a huge advantage when it comes to securing any potential loan deal for any of those players, given they are essentially negotiating with themselves.

Eddie Howe was tentatively touched on the subject during the summer. "That depends on if it is the right thing for Newcastle," he meekly offered. "We'll always act with our best interests first."

Those interests dramatically changed when Sandro Tonali - the club's marquee signing from AC Milan last summer - was suspended for ten months following betting breaches in October.

Many of the players that have moved to Saudi Arabia are not the sort of profile that Howe is expected to want for his Newcastle team, but the idea of replacing Tonali with Neves - a Premier League captain at Wolverhampton Wanderers last season - has gained traction. Although, it is possible that PIF will steer clear of that situation at least for the time being for fear of public backlash.

Can Saudi Pro League players join Newcastle on loan?

Ruben Neves was linked with Newcastle as soon as his move to Al Hilal was confirmed / Will Palmer/Allstar/GettyImages

There is nothing in a legal sense to stop PIF from shifting players between any of the clubs that they own, whether that be on loan or via a permanent move. The energy drink giant Red Bull regularly cycles individuals through their personal food chain of clubs, with the highly rated striker Benjamin Sesko moving from FC Liefering to RB Salzburg and then RB Leipzig in the last three years.

Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth confirmed that the Magpies would not breach any laws with this type of in-house deal. "Currently no...the current rules and regulations say there is nothing to stop it, currently."

Ashworth added: "There is a potential that the various different organisations will look at things across related parties and what you can do to acquire players at a fair market value, [although these] have already been in place for quite a while."

Will Newcastle replace Sandro Tonali with a loanee from the Saudi Pro League?

Kalvin Phillips could swap Manchester City's bench for Newcastle's midfield / Visionhaus/GettyImages

Tonali will not feature again for Newcastle this season but the most expensive Italian player of all time will be available in August 2024. And so, the Magpies are looking for a short-term fix in the form of a loan in the upcoming January transfer window 90min understands.

PIF's portfolio of easily agreeable options is definitely being considered but Howe's side are also interested in Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips. The England international's only start for City this season was in a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle.

With Pep Guardiola utterly disinterested in fielding Phillips, even when Rodri was suspended in autumn, the player's camp has reached out to a number of clubs, including Newcastle. Manchester United's Scott McTominay is another option within the Premier League.

Neves is the most alluring potential Saudi loanee, still well in his prime at 26, while Al Ahli's Gabri Veiga, once the target of the entire Premier League last summer, offers an even younger alternative.