Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl thinks the takeover at Newcastle will change the dynamic of the Premier League relegation battle during the second half of the season.
A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought the club in a £300million deal last week after Premier League approval was finally granted.
The Magpies’ new-found financial muscle is eventually likely to pose a threat to the league’s established ‘Big Six’, but more immediately Hasenhuttl believes their spending power in January will have a profound effect at the other end of the table.
Newcastle are 19th in the standings as the league prepares to resume this weekend following the international break.
Hasenhuttl said: “It’s a big chance for the club because when you want to transform a club in the Premier League and want to change the team and bring in new players then you need a lot of money.
“I think Newcastle is a team in the past who have not invested so much and have been crying for more investment and if they have an owner now to do that then they have more options.
“In this moment the window is closed so it is not possible to invest but in the future it will definitely change their opportunities as a club and in the next transfer window (they can) strengthen the team and this can definitely have an impact on their season, for sure.
“At the moment, they are in our area and until winter they will be a different team on the pitch.”
Newcastle have become the latest club to receive huge investment from overseas and Hasenhuttl does not have an issue with such takeovers, insisting it is good for the competition and quality of the Premier League.
“Personally, not really. I don’t have an issue,” said the Saints boss. “I mean, I am not the guy who decides who is allowed to bring these people into the Premier League, and investment in the Premier League I think is a good thing if I’m honest.
“It is not for me to say if it is right or not. It’s not a surprise for me that the Premier League is getting stronger every season. I feel it since I was here that the league was getting stronger every year.
“When you’re a team like us that gives their best players away for a lot of money and start again, you can feel it every year that it’s more difficult to compete with these teams because they all have the opportunities to buy players for a lot of money.
“Now there’s another bigger one coming and it doesn’t get any easier, that is for sure. But this is the Premier League. It’s fantastic because it’s another big impact money-wise for the Premier League which does mean the quality is rising.”
