Eddie Howe’s team will not include one Newcastle player this weekend when they play Wolves because it has come to light that he rejected the opportunity to quit the team in the summer and now faces the possibility of being cut out of the team completely.
Newcastle had a challenging summer due to worries over financial fair play.
Nobody at St James’ Park would have predicted this transfer window, with serious worries about potential violations of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules and an inability to entice elite players to Tyneside.
Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh, two young players, went for £65 million apiece after the Magpies were compelled to sell them in order to meet the FFP deadline of June 30. Minteh signed a £30 million contract with Brighton, while Anderson sealed a £35 million deal.
It put an end to rumors that the team could have to trade one of its well-established first team players due to connections between Alexander Isak and Arsenal and Anthony Gordon and Liverpool. Midfielder Sean Longstaff said in an interview during the summer that as the Magpies scrambled to obtain money, it seemed like everyone was for sale.
“We’re not fools; we’ve seen all there is to know about financial fair play (FFP) and who gets to participate and who doesn’t. Elliot and the rest of us had to let him go at that moment because, as it appeared, everyone had a price “, he said to the Athletic.
The summer acquisitions at Newcastle
Participant
Cost
Odyssey’s Victory
€23.6 million
Osula William
€11.66 million
Lewis Hall
€33 million
John Ruddy
No cost
Lloyd Kelly
No cost
However, despite complying, Newcastle saw a very quiet summer as William Osula joined from Sheffield United and Lloyd Kelly arrived on a free transfer. Goalkeepers John Ruddy and Odysseas Vlachodimos also arrived, officially finalizing Lewis Hall’s loan move from Chelsea.
Newcastle man to be frozen out
Odysseas Vlachodimos, the club’s most expensive goalie ever, is reportedly going to be locked out of the squad in a strange but expected turn of events, according to The Athletic.
Though he supposedly signed a separate contract from Anderson, the Greek goalkeeper technically joined the team for £20 million as part of the trade that sent Anderson to the City Ground. However, his entry was never more than a financial necessity to balance the books at both teams.
He hasn’t, however, been included in any of the team’s matchday lineups this season, and according to The Athletic, he “will not be selected for the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday”. He “has already been told he can leave St. James’ Park, an opportunity he declined,” they do add.
It is stated that “the prospects of Vlachodimos playing for Newcastle any time soon are said to be almost non-existent,” meaning that for the duration of his tenure on Tyneside, he will get a salary of £50,000 per week without ever participating in competitive action. Given the terms of the agreement, this is a disappointing but totally expected turn of events for Greece’s top player.
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