In his latest Reporter Notebook, Sky Sports News’ Keith Downie discusses Newcastle’s rise and how it might affect their transfer plans plus whether we now have a ‘big seven’ in the Premier League.
Following their 2-1 win against Tottenham on Super Sunday, Eddie Howe’s side currently sit fourth in the Premier League, marking a rapid rise since the club was taken over by the Saudi-led Public Investment Fund (PIF) last year.
In a recent Gary Neville Podcast, the Sky Sports pundit said he was impressed with how Newcastle have gone about their business under the new ownership, but there were still questions to answer.
“Newcastle have improved enormously,” he said. “Eddie Howe’s doing a good job and the type of players they’ve signed are the right type to get them to that next level… It’s been well thought out. The football project that has been put in place has been pretty good and sensible.
“There will always be question marks about them [the owners]. How were the Saudi Arabians accepted into the Premier League? We don’t know. There’s no transparency and there’s no independence.