Sheffield United were one of the clubs this week who voted not to change the rules on signing players on loan from affiliate clubs.
Much has been made in the last few weeks of Newcastle’s apparent interest in Al-Hilal’s Ruben Neves.
Of course, the Magpies are owned by PIF, who subsequently own a number of top teams in the Saudi Pro League, including Al-Hilal.
A vote had been put to all 20 clubs about opposing deals being allowed between those clubs. However, in a surprise notion, the league failed to get 14 of the 20 clubs voting for a rule change, with Sheffield United among those to oppose the change.
And according to The Sun, there was a lot of outside pressure on United when it came to the vote.
Sheffield United vote impacts Champions League race thanks to Saudi
As we all know, the Blades are controlled by Saudi Arabian ownership, namely, Prince Abdullah.
Part of Abdullah’s vision at United has been to build out the multi-club model, with the United World business having the likes of Beerschot and others under the umbrella.
United, of course, have seen little from that and there’s even talk that it’s falling apart a bit, with both Beerschot and Chateroux set to be sold soon.
However, that didn’t stop United voting to oppose the latest rule changes. According to The Sun, there was anger among Premier League clubs looking to bring in the new rules in the direction of United.
The Sun reports, though, that the Blades were apparently under pressure from Saudi Arabian figures and in the end, Prince Abdullah and his board crumbled under that pressure.
It means the door is now open for Newcastle to make a number of moves in January which will directly help and benefit them in the market. Neves is just one name the Mags could sign, while others could follow.
The impact on this could be huge. Given Newcastle will be battling the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal for top four places, the Mags could have a big advantage as the season progresses.