Newcastle lead transfer chase for EFL wonderkid who can run 100m just 1.4 seconds slower than Usain Bolt’s world record

FFP - or Financial Fair Play - is a concept originally introduced by Uefa in 2009, officially to prevent clubs from spending money they could not afford.

Yet many critics have rounded on the system, accusing it of being a protective instrument, drafted by the so-called “legacy clubs” to prevent insurgent and wealthier clubs from buying their way onto the top table.

The Premier League introduced its own FFP regulations which came into effect for the 2013-14 season and which, while less stringent than Uefa regulations, they do impact on club spending.

Under the current Prem “Profitability and Sustainability” regulations, clubs who are constant members of the top flight for a three-year period are allowed total losses of £105m over those three campaigns.

But it is not as simple as totting up outlay and income.

The biggest outlay, of course, is transfer fees. The 20 Prem clubs spent a total of around £2.4bn in last summer’s transfer window.

Yet that does not mean they “spent” that money as far as the Prem rules are concerned.

Transfer fees are “amortised” over the length of the contract, so, for example, a £100m fee for a player who signs a five-year deal is amortised at a cost of £20m per season for each of those five campaigns.