Newcastle’s summer transfer plans have been given a major boost, with Fabrizio Romano confirming the Magpies’ first business of the window this week.
Eddie Howe’s side are hoping to secure Champions League football for next year before rounding off a successful season with some much-needed transfer spending in the summer.
Newcastle added just four new faces to their squad, all of whom were largely fringe players, including Lloyd Kelly, who joined on a free transfer from Bournemouth.
There had been some speculation in recent that Juventus may avoid turning Kelly’s loan into a permanent deal if they missed out on European football, with the Italian giants sitting just one point away from dropping out of the top six in Serie A.
But Romano confirmed that the conditions had been met for a permanent deal, with Kelly having made 13 league appearances since his arrival, giving Newcastle a quick profit in a transfer worth €17.5 million plus add-ons.
Kelly departure gives Newcastle keys to summer spending spree
Kelly had struggled to make an impact during his short stint at St James’ Park and the 27-year-old has endured some criticism of his performances since joining Juve, which led to fears that Newcastle may miss out on a significant windfall.
However, with Kelly’s sale confirmed, Newcastle are expected to be in a strong PSR position going into the summer transfer window, having been in the opposite situation 12 months ago.
Newcastle were forced into the sales of youngsters Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh last summer, while goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos was signed purely for PSR reasons.
But the Magpies now can afford to be buyers at the June deadline thanks to Kelly’s sale and they will aim to make up for a poor window last year in order to build on a campaign that they will hope ends with Champions League qualification over the coming weeks.
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