Newcastle United will receive no sell-on clause windfall from Elliot Anderson’s move to Manchester City, leaving the club counting the cost of a badly negotiated sale.
Anderson is closing in on a British record transfer to Manchester City, with the deal reported to be worth £116m according to Fabrizio Romano, with no add-ons included.
The 23-year-old made just 44 Premier League appearances during his time at Newcastle, with the majority of those coming from the bench as a substitute.
Newcastle sold Anderson to Nottingham Forest for £35m, a fee confirmed by Sky Sports, without including any sell-on clause or buy-back clause in the agreement.
The reason for the weak negotiating position traces back to PSR pressure, with the club needing to offload a homegrown player to avoid a potential points deduction.
According to BBC Sport, the urgency to sell under those financial constraints meant Newcastle were unable to push for more favourable terms in the deal with Forest.
Forest have now made a staggering profit on Anderson, with the England international having developed into a world-class player during his time at the City Ground.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Thursday evening that “Manchester City side believe price will be £116m with NO add-ons included” and that Anderson will “undergo his medical in the US this weekend.”
Even a modest sell-on clause of 20 or 25 per cent would have returned Newcastle tens of millions of pounds from this record-breaking transfer.
Newcastle fans will be bitterly disappointed by the situation, with serious questions now emerging about the club’s transfer planning and financial management in recent years.
The fact that a club of Newcastle’s stature was forced to sell a homegrown talent cheaply due to overspending elsewhere highlights a significant structural problem in their recruitment strategy.
Anderson now heads to the Etihad Stadium as one of the most expensive players in British football history, a status that makes Newcastle’s original £35m sale look even more painful in hindsight.
