Report: Newcastle could revisit missed opportunities in January with PIF to sanction loan deals

Newcastle United could be set to send heads spinning in January by making a loan move for players from other PIF-owned clubs.

Manchester City's owners have amassed a network of clubs that freely trade players between them. The whole idea of the network is so that they can develop players around the world and, if they become good enough, they'll pick them up for City.

Red Bull also has several clubs around the world that trade with one another in this way.

Newcastle are seemingly subject to different rules

However, the mere thought of the Magpies loaning a player from the Saudi Pro League is enough to make some people's heads drop off.

The likes of Oliver Holt - who gets far too much joy from writing negatively about us that he will crowbar a dig into any piece he's writing just to feed his hate - are going to go wild if a loan move from a PIF-owned Saudi club is done in January.

Yet, TeamTalk has reported that Newcastle's owners will sanction a loan move from a Saudi Pro League club to cover for the missing Sandro Tonali.

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The Magpies have to compete for the rest of the season without their marquee summer signing after he was found guilty of breaching Italian betting rules, so there is a high chance, due to FFP restraints, that they will look to the loan market for cover in January.

Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City is the player most often linked with a switch, but Newcastle's 80% owners also have majority shares in four Saudi Pro League clubs who have vacuumed up a wealth of talent over the summer.

The Saudi Pro League now has a wealth of talent

Ruben Neves moved from Wolves to Al-Hilal and is high on Newcastle's list as they'd cast an eye on him before he left for Saudi Arabia.

There are also a couple of other players the Magpies wanted who ended up moving to PIF-run clubs and could be back on the radar this winter.

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Former Lazio midfielder, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, once dubbed 'the best midfielder in Italy' by Paul Merson, also moved to Al-Hilal where he's seen his form and his stock slip massively, but a loan to the Premier League could be good for his career and great for Newcastle.

Another player who shocked the footballing world by choosing the Saudi Pro League was youngster, Gabri Veiga. The Magpies were among a host of top European clubs looking at the young Spaniard. He could have gone anywhere, but he chose to follow the money and signed for Al-Ahli to play alongside former Magpie Allan Saint-Maximin.

There's certainly a wealth of talent to pick from, and the fume it would cause the footballing world almost makes it too funny to pass up. We'll see what happens in the New Year but it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting window.