‘Not a world-beater’ – Simon Jordan slams Newcastle United hypocrisy for £55m Anthony Elanga deal…
Newcastle United are close to announcing Anthony Elanga as a £55million signing from Nottingham Forest.
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has hit out at Eddie Howe for wanting to “take advantage” of Premier League rivals.
A year ago, Newcastle United were at the mercy of top-flight clubs as they battled a tricky PSR situation. Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh reluctantly moved on, with the Magpies facing a possible points deduction.
Howe spoke earlier this year about United being the ones who can hunt talent from other clubs. Selling Lloyd Kelly and Miguel Almiron in January gave Newcastle increased headroom ahead of the summer transfer window.
A huge outlay since Premier League promotion in 2023 has seen Forest battle PSR issues. They were deducted two points 18 months ago and the balance sheet remains tight – giving Newcastle an opportunity to strike.
Elanga has continued his medical on Tyneside today and an announcement confirming Newcastle’s first major signing for three windows is imminent. However, ex-Palace chief Jordan is unsure whether he can take the Magpies to the next level.
Anthony Elanga ‘not a world-beater’
“Newcastle, in order to kick into the next level, they probably need to spend £200-300million over a series of transfer windows,” he told talkSPORT. “Every football club in the Premier League can buy a £55million footballer, there’s no revelation in that. Elanga’s a decent player, you’re not buying a world beater, you’re buying a decent player.”
Simon Jordan questions Eddie Howe
Jordan went on to call Howe out on his previous comments given Newcastle’s PSR situation last year. He added: “Newcastle, in order to kick into the next level, they probably need to spend £200-300million over a series of transfer windows. Every football club in the Premier League can buy a £55million footballer, there’s no revelation in that. Elanga’s a decent player, you’re not buying a world beater, you’re buying a decent player.
“Interesting, he said that people taking advantage of PSR, quite rightly. He didn’t think it was quite right last year, he was infuriated by it. Now Newcastle are in a position to be able to take advantage of other people’s PSR travails, now it’s quite rightly people could take advantage of it.
“I like Eddie Howe, I think he’s a great manager, I’ve changed my opinion on him because I spent more time in his company, and I think his team have been a revelation to watch at times.”
‘I feel sorry for PL clubs’ – Simon Jordan
To his credit, Jordan has been a fierce opponent of PSR regulations in recent times. The former club owner sympathises with Newcastle for being unable to compete with the established Premier League elite.
“I feel sorry for Newcastle,” Jordan said. “I feel sorry for Nottingham Forest. I feel sorry for Aston Villa because this is not what sport was created to do. It was supposed to be if you’ve got an opportunity to be the best you can be the best and if you can see the vision, you can get the vision.
“A lot of it’s about money, everyone else can do what they want. Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, they can spend what they want because they’ve got PSR under control because they’ve got £600million turnovers. These clubs have not got that, so they can’t.”
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