by As things stand, the deal Manchester City are offering to sign Kalvin Phillips on loan for the rest of the season is no good because it is no good for Newcastle United.
That’s the view from St James’ Park. After weeks of talks, the Newcastle hierarchy do not believe signing Phillips makes financial sense. Not on the terms currently available to them. The loan rate is too high and talking about there being an obligation to buy in the summer doesn’t sit well with them either.
That doesn’t mean the deal is dead or that talks can’t resume, but it needs to be revived and City haven’t budged yet.
There is some hope that will change as we get closer to the deadline, but it is impossible to say with any degree of confidence that Phillips will be a Newcastle player before the window closes.
Newcastle had initially been encouraged to believe that a deal with City for Phillips would be easy to achieve this month. The England international had openly discussed his desire to leave during the November international break, as he does not have enough playing time under Pep Guardiola.
For his part, the City boss admitted he couldn’t find a place for the 28-year-old in his first-team plans. The perception was that City would help Phillips find a suitable club to ensure he played more regularly and Phillips was interested in the idea of moving to Newcastle.
Most importantly, however, Phillips has not campaigned to leave and City have been able to meet their demands to release him on loan, with a fee of £7m.
This is a huge sum of money to sign a player for just five months and Newcastle, constrained by profitability and sustainability rules, will not pay such a large sum for a player on loan.
They also do not want to commit £40m of their summer budget if there is an obligation to buy, especially as they will already have to pay £28m to Chelsea to convert Lewis Hall’s loan deal into a long-term one in June.
It has created the conditions for a stalemate and Newcastle are frustrated by the lack of flexibility in City’s stance.
In turn, City are confident they can find another club willing to pay the money they want this month (although they have already scared off Italian giants Juventus).
Newcastle will return for Phillips if there is a change in the situation and will remain “active in the market” if the right player becomes available, but sources have painted a bleak picture of their recruitment plans.
Meanwhile, Newcastle midfielder Issac Hayden is in talks to join Championship side Preston North End after cutting short a loan spell with Standard Liege in Belgium.
Not signing anyone is risky, but Newcastle refuse to be scammed
Newcastle United are in danger of letting this season fade away in disappointment and frustration as they remain reluctant to make any new signings this month.
Kalvin Phillips was supposed to be a simple deal for Newcastle to join and the England international was expected to make the move from Manchester City early in the window.
As fans clamored for new signings to improve a team that has been plagued by long-term injuries for months, January was supposed to be the time when reinforcements would arrive.
However, the confidence that initially fueled his interest in Phillips has faded.
“Nothing in the market makes financial sense for Newcastle”
In fact, there is no confidence that Newcastle will sign anyone. As bleak as it may seem to supporters desperate to see help arrive, they may not be able to add any players, even on loan.
There is nothing on the market right now that makes sense for them in the medium to long term and they would prefer to wait until the summer to improve a team that unfortunately looks a long way from finishing in the top six again this season.
Injuries have crippled Newcastle: 11 players were missing against Manchester City last weekend, and their big signing Sandro Tonali was also suspended until August. Eddie Howe gets by with one hand tied behind his back. He has been for weeks.
Howe has nothing on his bench to change games. No midfielder and only winger Matt Ritchie, 34, as cover for the attacking players. It has been a repetitive story since the beginning of December, when the Newcastle crisis began.
For 60 minutes, Newcastle are a threat, but as the starting eleven tires, they can no longer hurt teams offensively and become vulnerable defensively. Without fresh legs to revive in midfield or up top, Newcastle’s fatigue is being taken advantage of. It is also becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Newcastle and their fans have been conditioned to expect pain at the end of games and it continues to do so.
Howe’s team has not scored a decisive goal, neither a winning goal nor a draw, after the 64th minute all season, but has conceded in 10 games, in all competitions. His goal difference in the first 70 minutes is +13, but after conceding two late goals to lose to Manchester City, he is -4 in the last 20.
Create tension. Any coach in Howe’s position would want signings. He is the one who is judged solely on results and Newcastle have lost four games in a row in the Premier League and have won two of their last 10 games in all competitions.
The thought of no signings being made is sobering and begs the question: have Newcastle effectively written off this season as ineffective? The injuries are very serious and cut too much for it to be a success. They have to take it seriously.
“The club can fix things in the summer”
His recruitment team will be able to sort things out in the summer, when his spending power will be higher, boosted by revenue from this season’s Champions League as well as the new shirt sponsorship deal with Sela and lucrative manufacturing partnership with Adidas.
They have to stick to the plan and not panic in January when there is no value in the market. It is a risky strategy but it can also be understood.
The price they are likely to pay is that European qualification could be out of reach this season. Newcastle have fallen to tenth place in the table. Howe’s team is just three points behind seventh-placed Manchester United and five points behind sixth-placed West Ham.
This season is far from over. Newcastle remain within striking distance and their schedule, on paper, becomes much easier after they travel to Aston Villa later this month.
There is a sense of calm in the boardrooms. Howe’s job is not threatened. They believe that January’s stance is correct because of his long-term approach. But it is always dangerous to let things wander in football.
“Howe has the tools to finish the season strong”
The thought process is this; Injured players will begin to return in early February and as his injury problems subside, Howe will have the tools to finish the campaign strong.
They are also in the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they will face Fulham at Craven Cottage in just under a fortnight.
But players like Joe Willock, who has barely played since May, and Harvey Barnes, injured since September, will need time to catch up. They could easily suffer further problems after being injured for so long with complex tendon and foot problems.
And what if Newcastle suffer more injuries in the meantime? Playmaker Bruno Guimaraes was struggling with a hamstring strain against City and is also just one more yellow card away from a two-game suspension.
At the moment, Newcastle would have to rely on a defender, Fabian Schar or Lewis Hall, in midfield if they lose another player in that area of the pitch.
Striker Callum Wilson is due to return from his latest problem in time for the game against Villa, but he continues to unravel and will turn 32 next month.
Newcastle should really bring in someone this month and are still searching the market for someone suitable. In reality, getting them is proving to be much more difficult. The market is slow, they can only hope that things will relax later in the market. But most of their Premier League rivals expect the same.
