Should Newcastle be allowed to spend Saudi PIF billions? Ex-Magpies star baffled by PSR amid summer of sales at St James’ Park but still sees cause for optimism

Hislop is not alone in adopting that way of thinking, with many left wondering why the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City are allowed to spend lavishly while domestic rivals that boast big ambition of their own continue to be reined in.

That has been the case again in 2026, with the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali heading out of St James’ Park. Newcastle have reinvested some of those funds, as collective eyes once again turn towards building long-term, but Public Investment Fund (PIF) riches cannot be put to the best possible use.

Asked if one window has set the Magpies back three or four years in the hunt for top-four finishes, Hislop - who was speaking on behalf of Ignition Australia - told GOAL: “It's difficult to say because before a ball was kicked, I would say so. I would say yes. I was not looking forward to the season for Newcastle and how much they've had to sell and how they've replaced.

“They started the season well. Of course, I was there for the game against Liverpool. They followed that up with a win against Spurs at Spurs. All of a sudden, there's a different feeling around Newcastle right now.

“Now, I don't think this season will be challenging for Champions League football, but given how I felt maybe a month ago, two weeks before the season started, a week before the season started, I feel very differently now.

“I will also say that while you can gather that Newcastle has again had to sell and sell as heavily as it did, this window to balance PSR, etc, etc, you look at other clubs who continue to spend rather lavishly and a lot of it just doesn't make an awful lot of sense to me. How there's this imbalance about the league.

“PSR was brought in to try to, let me just say, rein in the spending and have everybody play by the same rules, but the gap between those who are able to spend and those who aren't seems to be widening and becoming more difficult to explain.”

Hislop went on to say of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations that were introduced to counter overspending and the threat of teams going bust, but now appear to miss the point when it comes to wealthy owners that are prepared to splash the cash and bankroll established Premier League institutions: “I applauded financial fair play and now PSR and the intent around it. I thought it was a good thing.

“But now, as we said, I don't think it's had the impact that many of us thought it would. As a result, why not just go back to where we were once upon a time? If you are willing to put your millions/billions into a football club to see them be competitive, then you are more than entitled to do so.

“It also means that the pool of owners who are able to afford Premier League clubs, or big football clubs, gets smaller and smaller, but financial fair play and PSR hasn't changed that either. So, what's the overarching impact on today's game, given its initial intent? I'm not sure that there is any.”

Having picked up four points from two testing fixtures against Liverpool and Tottenham at the start of 2026-27, positivity has returned to the Newcastle camp on the back of transfer window disillusionment.

A home date with Bournemouth is next up, on Saturday, with the Tyneside heavyweights still hoping that rules will be changed across English football that allow them to spend more extravagantly across future recruitment windows.