With the June 30 deadline for PSR compliance looming, Premier League clubs in danger of breaching the rules are scratching each others backs to ensure they avoid any punishments.
Everton, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Chelsea FC have all been doing deals between each other in recent days which as well as bolstering squads will also bolster the bottom line.
The Toffees have already signed England U20 midfielder Tim Iroegbunam from Villa, with Lewis Dobbin set to go the other way. Now, Newcastle and Everton look to be doing some business.
The Magpies have held a long-standing interest in Dominic Calvert-Lewin and reports on Saturday suggest further talks have been held between the clubs. Going in the opposite direction in a separate deal could be 19-year-old Gambia forward Yankuba Minteh.
Calvert-Lewin is about to enter the last 12 months of his contract and has been offered fresh terms, but if he doesn’t sign then Everton will look to sell him this summer so the striker does not leave for free next year.
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The Toffees will be looking for around £25m for the 27-year-old, who cost just £1.5m when he joined from Sheffield United in 2016. Though that is less than he would command with more years on his contract, it would all go down as profit in the books and help Everton’s PSR position.
You can understand why Calvert-Lewin may look to move on at this stage, having spent eight years at the Toffees. At 27 this is likely to be his last big contract and Newcastle have the resources to offer him decent terms. I imagine most Evertonians would wish him well – as long as a replacement is brought in later this summer. The advantages of doing business early in the transfer window.
Minteh meanwhile cost Newcastle just £6m from Danish club OB last summer and was immediately loaned out to Feyenoord, where he scored 11 goals in 37 games and won the Dutch Cup.
Newcastle are reportedly reluctant to lose the teenager but a fee of around £30m would represent a significant profit and help ease their PSR concerns.
I doubt the Premier League imagined this type of horse trading when it brought in PSR rules a few years back and started handing out points deductions last season. It probably assumed clubs would sell a key asset, probably to a top six side, but the clubs affected have grouped together to ensure compliance without dramatically weakening their squad.
Many assumed Everton would be forced to sell someone like Jarrad Branthwaite on the cheap. But if they make it past June 30 without any PSR concerns then they will be in a much stronger bargaining position.