Newcastle must now pay around £50m to sign 26-year-old midfielder in January

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If Newcastle United think they can sign Ruben Neves on the cheap in January, they can think again.

Ever since Sandro Tonali was banned for betting, there has been talk of the Magpies bringing in Ruben Neves to replace him.

The 26-year-old plays for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, but is apparently not settled in his new surroundings and would be keen on a return to the Premier League, where he played so long for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

That created an opportunity for Newcastle, who have reportedly been interested in a loan deal for the Portugal international.

However, the Magpies’ Premier League rivals are going to make sure that isn’t possible.

Premier League plan to stop Newcastle signing Ruben Neves on loan

The issue is that, like Newcastle, Al Hilal are owned by PIF. Therefore, a deal between the two clubs would certainly be suspicious, giving Newcastle a back alley route to fix their midfield problem.

Now the Premier League are going to make sure this type of deal can’t be done, as they prepare to vote on a temporary ban on clubs with the same owners doing loan deals. That would then stop Newcastle from loaning Neves from Al Hilal.

The rest of the Premier League are seemingly desperate for Newcastle not to take advantage of this loophole, as they prepare to move the goalposts once again – like they did with sponsorship when the 2021 takeover first went through.

Newcastle will not be able to sign Ruben Neves on the cheap either

If Newcastle are to sign Neves in January, they will have to pay big money for him. That is according to the Athletic’s David Ornstein, who has responded to a question from a reader, who asked if Eddie Howe’s side could make a low offer to sign Neves rather than loan him.

Ornstein responded: “That would almost certainly not pass the Premier League’s fair market value assessment, Grant. He cost Al Hilal £47million in June and therefore a permanent transfer, you imagine, would need to be at least around that price. Newcastle would have been interested in a loan, but it looks like that will be banned by the Premier League.”

Signing Neves on the cheap would be even more controversial, as his value has to be around the £50million mark that he cost in the summer.

Fair market value is something that Newcastle have already had to prove this year, having sold Allan Saint-Maximin to Al Ahli, who are also owned by PIF. The Magpies actually shortchanged themselves on that deal, with Maxi only going for about £23million.

It sounds like the only way Newcastle are going to sign Neves in January is if they pay a proper fee in the region of £50million for him, which, in truth, is how it should be. These rule changes are frustrating, but it is a loophole that should be closed.

However, Toon fans will complain that it should have been closed years ago when the likes of Manchester City and Watford were taking full advantage of it.