Newcastle close to agreement with UEFA over breach of SCR rules - Report

Newcastle United were guilty of breaching UEFA's Squad Cost Ratio rules this season when participating in the Champions League.

The Magpies made it to the round of 16 in the Champions League this season, but were found to be in breach of the 70% SCR rules that all clubs participating in UEFA competitions must abide by.

Last season, Aston Villa were found to be in breach of the same rules and were slapped with a £9.5 million fine and strict transfer restrictions were also placed upon them.

Newcastle are set to suffer a similar fate, but according to iNews, the Magpies are expected to receive a lower fine than their Premier League counterparts.

Newcastle and UEFA have been locked in talks

UEFA and Newcastle have been in talks for months, and the club feels it has put forward a convincing case that should see UEFA go a fair bit easier on them than they did on Aston Villa.

It doesn't mean Newcastle are going to get away scot-free, though. Newcastle will have to abide by the transfer restrictions UEFA may place on them despite not being in any UEFA competitions next year.

In truth, this is just good practice as the goal is to get back into Europe next season, so it would make no sense to go tight up against the Premier League's less restrictive rules only to then have to try and trim down to comply with UEFA again.

Anthony Gordon and Joe Willock's sales will help

It does mean that Newcastle will have to sell at least one big star this summer, but as Anthony Gordon already has one foot out of the door, that's not going to be too much of an issue, as we're all braced for his exit anyway.

Meanwhile, the iPaper has reiterated that Joe Willock is another first-team player who is likely to leave in the summer. He's not likely to bring in a massive amount of money, but there have been talks that Crystal Palace are keen, and £20 million could be a reasonable figure, which certainly won't hurt the cause.

Between Willock and Gordon, we could be looking at the best part of £100 million, which should go a long way to making Newcastle compliant again, and could even leave some wiggle room for additions before having to make other sales.

Only time will tell, as we still need to get the final decision on what sanctions Newcastle will face, but it looks like we're going to get away with it more than Aston Villa did.