Latest Newcastle United furlough figure revealed as four Premier League clubs claim cash

An ITV News investigation obtained figures from HMRC for the clubs in English football’s top two leagues claiming from the furlough scheme.

Four of the clubs claiming money were from the Premier League – Leeds United, Sheffield United and Burnley also used the scheme – and the most up-to-date figures show that Newcastle claimed between £100,000 and £250,000 in December. The club first furloughed staff a year ago.

Leeds were also in that band, while Burnley and Sheffield United claimed between £10,000 and £25,000 in the same month.

Premier League and Championship clubs claimed more than £13million in the first four months of the Job Retention Scheme – and their claims have come under scrutiny given the sums spent on players and their wages.

MP Julian Knight, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said: “What’s not certain is how much individual clubs claimed nor how much more was paid out.

"But these figures from HMRC clearly show that £13million was claimed in furlough by Premier League and Championship clubs in just four months.

“At that time, we on the Committee, called out clubs for using Government money to pay their non-playing staff while at the same time paying top wages to star players. We called for the Premier League to put a stop to it – and for the Chancellor to impose a windfall tax if clubs refused.

“The Premier League clearly has questions to answer and should be held accountable.”