Jamie Carragher says Newcastle ‘didn’t do due diligence’ on £52m gambling-ban star Sandro Tonali and their ‘mistake’ on his private life means they SHOULDN’T now be allowed to sign Ruben Neves

Jamie Carragher has slammed Newcastle for not doing their ‘due diligence’ before signing Sandro Tonali, and believes they shouldn’t be allowed to sign Ruben Neves. 

The Magpies signed the Italian midfielder from AC Milan for £52m during the summer transfer window.

Tonali though was handed a ten-month ban from football for illegal betting during his time at the Serie A club, ruling him out for the remainder of the season. 

Newcastle will be able to sign players on loan from sides also controlled by their Saudi owners, after a vote by Premier League clubs on a temporary ban on related-party-loans did not receive the required support. This means they could make a move for Al-Hilal star Ruben Neves, who they have been linked with.  

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast on The Overlap, Carragher criticised the Magpies for their signing of Tonali and questioned whether they should be allowed to sign Neves.

Tonali was banned from football for ten months for illegal betting it was announced in October

Carragher says Newcastle shouldn’t be allowed to sign Ruben Neves, which they could do  after a vote by clubs on a ban on related-party-loans did not receive the required support

He said: ‘When we talk about Newcastle and think about Sandro Tonali – they’ve bought a player from AC Milan, and you could argue that Newcastle haven’t done their due diligence. 

‘They don’t know what’s going on in this guy’s private life.

‘They’ve spent a lot of money and are going to lose the player – that should hurt them as a club because they haven’t done things the right way. 

‘They shouldn’t then be allowed to go and get, for instance, Ruben Neves, who is a £50 million player for free on loan because they’ve made a mistake. If they’ve made a mistake, they should pay for it.’

It was generally accepted, prior to the Premier League shareholder vote on a temporary ban on incoming loan deals between clubs with the same owners, that the motion would be passed.

Instead, it fell short of the necessary 14 votes to pass thanks to eight rebel clubs keen to maintain the status quo.

Of the clubs in question – Chelsea , Man City, Newcastle, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Wolves, and Burnley – only Wolves stand alone with no clear vested interest; no potential talent-sharing deal in the offing, or new ownership looking to add another club to its stable.

Clubs often use others in their network to send players on loan to gain experience, and many did not want to risk that avenue being closed. 

Carragher insisted that Newcastle should ‘pay’ for their mistake in signing midfielder Tonali

Tonali’s suspension will keep him out of football for the remainder of the current season

The proposal to prevent loan deals from happening was initially put forward at the end of last season, after Newcastle’s Saudi PIF owners took ownership control of the four leading clubs in the Saudi Pro League – Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli.

Fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville does not believe the issue can be regulated by the Premier League themselves, as he said: ‘This is beyond football people to stop this.

‘What you’d hope for, at some point in the future, is that good leadership will return to this country, generally not just in football but in parliament as well. And we’ll have a good government who basically bring back some sort of law and order and some empathy and some sort of social approach.

‘That doesn’t mean that we can’t have an unbelievable Premier League, it just means that this type of manoeuvring – which we’re watching at the moment – financial manoeuvring, power shifts, political games that we see [might stop].

‘I think what we’re seeing in the game at the moment is really dangerous.’

Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley pictured leaving The Churchill Hotel on Tuesday after the Premier League shareholder meeting

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has previously refused to rule out loaning players from Saudi Arabia

Portuguese midfielder Neves joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in a £47m move during the summer transfer window. 

The rejection of the ban this week means Newcastle could do business with the four Saudi clubs their owners are linked to.

Others such as Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sadio Mane and Aymeric Laporte also play for PIF-owned teams.  

Back in the summer, Eddie Howe refused to rule out making loan moves for players in Saudi Arabia. 

The Newcastle boss said: ‘That depends on if it is the right thing for Newcastle. We’ll always act with our best interests first.’

He added: ‘Depth [of squad] is huge for us this year. With the competitions that we’re in, having three games a week, we need to be able to rotate the team, but to be able to bring in players who are of equal standard.

‘That’s what we’re looking to do, but we know we have a lot of work to do that. Players are expensive these days. We’re working within FFP guidelines, which is very difficult for us. We might need to be creative, but we’re trying to look at every avenue we can to make the club stronger.’

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher were speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.