Newcastle United: How newly wealthy club can avoid January transfer window ‘nightmare’

Money is not a problem for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns 80% of Newcastle and is worth hundreds of billions of pounds.

That could prove crucial if the club nears the end of the window and is still looking to add to its squad or, in the case of centre-back target Sven Botman, needs to make one last attempt to convince Lille to sell.

Paying a reported £25m for Wood, who is 30 and has scored three goals this season, might not represent great value, according to some fans. Others point out he is a seasoned Premier League striker who can hit the ground running and whose move to St James’ Park weakens a relegation rival.

Most importantly, according to former Manchester City technical director Mike Rigg, who guided the club’s transfer policy after its own takeover in 2008, it’s about who is available.

“If a player strengthens Newcastle’s team and they stay in the Premier League, it’s a good signing,” he says.

“In January, teams are either competing for the top, or are unsure if they are safe, so it’s really difficult for clubs to agree to sell players.

“It can be a nightmare. No-one wants to sell their best players unless you’re buying them for an absolute fortune. So sometimes you have to be prepared to pay over the odds.”

Yet Trippier’s signing for £12m plus add-ons shows the new owners can strike a good deal.

Howe added: “We certainly don’t have a blank cheque. We are trying to be smart to bring in the right players at the right price.

“If you see a player coming for purely financial gain, it won’t work, but you also need very good players so it’s a delicate combination for me to figure out.”

It promises to be a tricky month to navigate, especially with the likes of co-owner Amanda Staveley getting to grips with running the club, and the funds needing to be signed off in Saudi Arabia.

But huge resources will allow the club to be creative, with relegation clauses, if needs be.

Rigg adds: “For the next couple of years, Newcastle will go through what we called the ‘building and fixing phase’ at Manchester City. You have to make some sacrifices during that time because we were a mid-table Premier League team and didn’t really have an awful lot of negotiating power.”