Newcastle United plan to have an £80million-plus-sales transfer budget for this summer's window, The Athletic's George Caulkin says.
The lowdown
Newcastle are gearing up for their first summer market since their Saudi-led takeover went through back in the autumn.
In January, the new owners sanctioned a record spend of around £90million on five new players: Bruno Guimaraes, Chris Wood, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and loan signing Matt Targett.
Manager Eddie Howe has cooled any expectation of a revolution on Tyneside this summer, stressing that Newcastle will have to work within the constraints of Financial Fair Play rules.
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The latest
Addressing supporters on The Athletic's matchday discussion board shortly before kick-off on Monday, Caulkin shared some insight on Newcastle's likely spending power.
He says player sales could furnish Howe with a similar budget to the winter window and allow for another 'transformative' transfer season.
"Sources have told us it could go up to £80m," he said. "Players will also leave. So let's add that to the pot - another £20 million, say.
"That takes Newcastle's spending power to within touching distance of January and January was transformative."
The verdict
We can expect a large chunk of that initial £80million to be spent on a striker.
The I's Mark Douglas has claimed that recruiting a new no. 9 is an absolute priority for the club this summer.
They're said to hold an interest in Benfica's Darwin Nunez, available for €60million (£50.4million) according to The Athletic.
If they were to spend more than 60% of their budget on the Uruguayan, then they may be forced to dip into the loan market or free agents pool to strengthen their squad elsewhere.
As for sales, Matt Ritchie, Isaac Hayden, Ciaran Clark, Dwight Gayle and Karl Darlow have been named as some of the players who could be moved on to clear space and raise funds.
In other news, Luke Edwards shares an exciting summer claim for NUFC.