Newcastle United have agreed to sell summer signing Lloyd Kelly to Serie A giants Juventus before Monday’s deadline.
Just six months after Newcastle United signed Lloyd Kelly as a free agent, the 26-year-old is now headed for the exit at St James’ Park.
While Newcastle missed out on Marc Guehi in the summer, Eddie Howe did strengthen his backline by offering a five-year contract to Lloyd Kelly.
However, after making just 14 appearances for Newcastle, Kelly is set to join Juventus after a £15m deal was agreed with the Italian club.
Kelly is earning £100,000 per week at St James’ Park, so on top of the impressive fee, Newcastle will clear his salary from the books in what will be a major PSR boost for the Magpies.
How Lloyd Kelly compares to Newcastle’s biggest sales
Sporting director Paul Mitchell will be delighted with a £15m fee for a player who arrived for nothing just a few months ago.
The £15m fee Newcastle are set to collect for Kelly also cracks the club’s top 10 biggest transfer sales of all time.
| Player name | Destination | Transfer fee |
| Elliot Anderson | Nottingham Forest | £35m |
| Andy Carroll | Liverpool | £34m |
| Yankuba Minteh | Brighton | £30m |
| Moussa Sissoko | Tottenham | £30m |
| Ayoze Perez | Leicester City | £28m |
| Georginio Wijnaldum | Liverpool | £23m |
| Allan Saint-Maximin | Al-Alhi | £23m |
| Yohan Cabaye | PSG | £22m |
| Aleksandar Mitrovic | Fulham | £22m |
| Lloyd Kelly* | Juventus | £15m |
Elliot Anderson’s £35m move to Nottingham Forest in the summer remains Newcastle’s biggest-ever sale. Eddie Howe was forced to sell Anderson for PSR purposes.
Yankuba Minteh also left Newcastle to ease PSR in a £30m move to Brighton – he ranks third on the list.
Newcastle United’s transfer priority has just changed
Heading into the January transfer window, Newcastle wanted to sign a right winger. It seems unlikely that will happen with less than 48 hours remaining.
But with Miguel Almiron re-joining Atlanta United for £11m this window, a winger is still at the very top of the shopping list.
Despite missing out on Guehi in the summer, Newcastle were ready to ease their pursuit of a centre-back with Sven Botman returning from injury and Jamaal Lascelles hopefully following closely behind.
But Kelly’s dramatic exit this window means that a centre-back is now back to the top of Newcastle’s priority list. Selling Kelly without any replacements is risky business, and something the club could come to regret at the end of the season.
When the summer transfer window rolls around, Mitchell and Co. have no excuses not to land a top-class winger and centre-back.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
