“Shows how strong they are” – Romano lauds Newcastle over Trippier stance as FFP bites Magpies hard

With Financial Fair Play ensuring that the current transfer window has been one of the quietest ever, Newcastle have been lauded by transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, for their stance over Kieran Trippier in the wake of interest from Bayern Munich.

In the future, we are likely to see lots of clubs having to effectively sell off their crown jewels in order to stay on the right side of FFP rules, which will level the playing field to a degree.

How much that will show on the pitch is a moot point, and there’s some degree of truth to the notion that no club is safe.

Not even Newcastle despite their evident riches.

The Bavarians tried their hardest to bring England international, Trippier, to the Bundesliga, however, that deal now seems dead and buried, which has brought praise from Romano.

“FFP is a problem for Newcastle but they already rejected €15m for Trippier, so it shows how strong they are when it’s time to make decisions,” he said in his exclusive Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside.

“They will only sell if important proposals arrive on the table.

“Otherwise there will be no important outgoings until the summer – this is the message coming from the club.”

With the current window almost over, it would be a surprise to see any big deals go through now, though one can never say never in football.

A major concern for clubs across Europe is likely to come in the summer when the Saudi Pro League comes calling again, and FFP concerns that still haven’t gone away will need to be addressed.