Newcastle United journalist Liam Kennedy insists that the club do not have a specific budget this summer.
The club have been reported as having a meagre pool of cash for new additions at St James’ Park.
The Daily Mail has reported previously that manager Steve Bruce had been told that he only had £10m to spend on strengthening his squad in this transfer window.
[freshpress-poll id=”311385″]
But that has now been contradicted by Kennedy, who insists that there is no set budget for the manager to spend, with additions decided upon based on their potential sell-on value, rather than their set price.
That tallies with reports that the club have actually agreed a deal to sign Joe Willock from Arsenal for a fee of around £25m, an outlay far above their reported budget in this window.
Kennedy said: “Newcastle is a funny one in terms of budgets.
“They never have a strict budget, it’s always a case of if they can sign a player that they believe will add value, and that doesn’t just mean add value to the team but also means, for example Willock, signing a 21-year-old who could go from a £20 million player to a £40 million player in a matter of years, which is entirely possible with Joe Willock because he has got a lot of ability.
“That’s the bit Newcastle need to weigh up.”
Willock enjoyed a fabulous half-season with the Magpies after arriving on loan in January, as he scored eight goals in 14 games, including strikes against both Liverpool and Manchester City.
