Any hopes Bristol City held for a late January cash injection from the sales of Adam Webster and/or Lloyd Kelly look to be over after Newcastle United agreed a £13million fee with Brighton & Hove Albion for Dan Burn.
Both Webster and Kelly have been linked to the Magpies this month, for what would be significant transfer fees, but are expected to remain at Brighton and Bournemouth respectively, given the move for Burn.
City sold Kelly and Webster in the summer of 2019 receiving around £33m for both players, with the former's transfer then worth a further £7m in adds-ons, but their progress since leaving Ashton Gate has continued their financial value to the Robins.
Kelly has been named Bournemouth captain and developed into one of the classiest centre-backs in the Championship with a return to the Premier League a matter of when rather than if. Such is his importance to the Cherries, he's valued in excess of £50m.
Webster, meanwhile, is now firmly established in the top-flight for the Seagulls and his virtuoso performance against Chelsea this month has increased calls for the 27-year-old to be included in Gareth Southgate's next England squad.
Like Kelly, Brighton's price-tag is significant, especially as Webster only signed a new five-year contract last August, and those high valuations have put Newcastle off, for this transfer window at least as they fight for Premier League survival.
Burn, by contrast, represents a low cost alternative and the 29-year-old is due for a medical on Monday, while his departure from the Amex Stadium means any further interest in Webster is likely to be rebuffed as Graham Potter looks to keep his squad together.
It's unclear the precise percentage City will be owed of any future sales but the standard for most clubs is between 10-20 per cent of profit.
In the event of Kelly or Webster going for sums in excess of £20m, that sort of subsequent cash injection would be the equivalent of City selling a current first-team player in what is a depressed Championship transfer market, with the only significant investment in players originating from the Premier League.
The collapse of the market outside the Premier League has been identified by Robins CEO Richard Gould as a key reason behind City's record £38.4m losses for the financial year ending 2021.
City estimate they have lost around £30m in potential player sales due to the pandemic which has, in-turn, limited their own ability to buy, sell, trade and reinforce their squad.
The sale of Kelly in May 2019 in-part enabled City to record a pre-tax profit of £10.9m, meaning they won't fall foul of the EFL's Profit and Sustainability Rules for this current season, as it's included in calculating total losses over a rolling three-season period.
But the club are set to fall foul of the regulations next season, when that profit is no longer part of the equation, unless the governing body allow lost transfer revenue to be included as an "add-back" in each club's submissions for 2023.
Unfortunately if Webster and Kelly remain at their respective clubs beyond tomorrow, as now seems almost inevitable, any summer sales will have to be included in the next set of accounts, not for 2021/22.
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