Newcastle United fans hopes of 'buy-back' clauses in controversial summer transfers dashed by report

There was a theory, borne more out of hope than evidence, that Newcastle United had inserted 'buy-back' clauses into the deals which saw two young stars depart the club in the summer.

Profit and Sustainability Rules had Newcastle in a panic in the summer as they scrambled to fill a £70 million hole in the accounts before the reporting deadline.

Eventually, Newcastle released Dan Ashworth to Manchester United for an undisclosed sum and sold Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest for £35 million and Yankuba Minteh to Brighton £33 million.

Nobody at Newcastle wanted to see either Anderson or Minteh go, but given that the other alternative discussed was selling Anthony Gordon to Liverpool, the feeling was the club did the right thing.

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There were no buy-back clauses in either deal

Fans have since wondered if Newcastle were savvy enough to put buy-back clauses in their contracts given their reluctance to sell, but the Daily Mail has crushed those dreams.

Craig Hope wrote that Newcastle weren't negotiating from a position of strength and as such would not have been able to insert such clauses.

In truth though, as much as we love Elliot Anderson, especially with him being an academy graduate, where would he fit into this current team?

There was nothing to suggest that Yankuba Minteh would have been a success at Newcastle

Losing Minteh when we were so desperate for a new winger did feel a bit counterintuitive, but he never even pulled on the shirt for the club.

He may not have fit with Newcastle's style. Look at Chris Wood. He didn't work under Eddie Howe half as well as he is at Nottingham Forest. Minteh could have been the same story.

We'll never know, so we might as well just all pretend that he'd have been a dud, while Elliot Anderson is getting far more first-team football at Forest than he would here, so everything worked out for the best, if we're being honest.