Eddie Howe fears it’s likely to be another ‘unpredictable’ and ‘difficult’ January window for the club, admitting he would be ‘surprised’ to see a busy month of incomings on Tyneside in the New Year.
Newcastle supporters have been left frustrated over the past 12 months, with no major signings being brought in to improve the first-team and two young players in Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh moved on for PSR reasons.
Our need for another centre-back and right-winger is well documented, with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo pursued or linked in recent months, but it remains to be seen if we’ll revisit either deal this winter.
Asked about the January window, Howe said: “It’s unpredictable at the moment. It’s very difficult to see what is going to happen. I know no one wants to hear it, but January is always a difficult window in every window so I don’t think we should necessarily go into it expecting any different to any other previous January.
“Transfer trading, generally, was down last summer compared to the previous summer so will this January follow suit and it’s quieter across the board? Possibly, yes. These are things that don’t go in favour of a busy window so without wanting to make predictions, I’d be surprised if it deviated from that.”
Of course, many of us understand that it’s been difficult period for Newcastle given the rules that are in place, but when you see teams like Chelsea basically buying two entire starting XI’s it becomes infuriating.
With a few key areas still to address, the club can’t afford another window with little to no action, especially given the competitive nature of the Premier League this season – there’s currently just four points separating 4th and 13th – and our need to get back into Europe for 2025/26.
Howe did not confirm that there would be no activity, but it was a clear move to manage expectations, especially with January a notoriously tough time to sign top players for reasonable fees.
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