With both Paul Mitchell and Darren Eales set to depart in the coming weeks, it’s looking like Eddie Howe will be overseeing recruitment at Newcastle United for the foreseeable future, alongside Steve Nickson and Andy Howe.
It’s a testament to the man’s achievements and performances so far that many fans will feel immensely comfortable in Howe’s capable hands.
From ending our major trophy drought with March’s Carabao Cup, to delivering Champions League football whilst severely limited by available finances and players, Howe’s more than deserved his chance to see his vision for the club fulfilled.
And for Howe to continue taking us upward, the gaffer has established a few key demands heading into the summer, as a new report explains.
The Athletic have released a piece on Newcastle’s summer transfer plans, discussing Eddie Howe’s two top priorities when it comes to ins and outs on Tyneside over the next three months.
Before we get to exciting new signings, the boss is adamant we must keep all of our ‘elite’ stars, with the likes of Alexander Isak, Tino Livramento and Sandro Tonali still attracting interest from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Juventus respectively.
Anthony Gordon’s links with Liverpool have also lingered on quietly, but Howe is thought to be insisting that we add to what we’ve got and build from a position of strength; and PIF seem to agree based on their refusal to even entertain Isak offers.
On top of that, Howe wants to bolster the squad with ‘two to three’ top class additions, most likely a centre-back and right winger, with a ball-playing goalkeeper also high on Howe’s list to help transform our ability to build from the back.
Another striker is also wanted to compete with Alexander Isak, but the key first-team upgrades to take Howe’s XI to that next level could come in goal, at centre-back and on the right wing.
Discussing Howe’s key focuses heading into the summer, Chris Waugh said: “It is twofold; retain Newcastle’s elite players and finally inject fresh quality into a squad which Howe has admitted risks becoming “stale”.
“None of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Gordon or Livramento is for sale, either. Newcastle do not have the same financial-fair-play constraints as last summer, and the desire is to improve the squad, not weaken it.”
With Liam Delap all-but-officially confirmed to be a Chelsea player, and Bryan Mbeumo keen on moving to Manchester United, a good number of our dream big signings don’t look like they’ll be happening any time soon.
So just who right now could come in and appease Howe’s desire for first team upgrades?
Marc Guehi remains a long-term target and may be the centre-back we go back in for, especially with Bournemouth’s Illya Zabarnyi now looking likely to join PSG.
Although it may not seem like a ‘huge’ name on paper, James Trafford will be seen as a big deal at St James’ Park. Locking down the apparent heir to Jordan Pickford as England’s No.1 for between £25-30m could prove to be a bargain in the future.
Or could it be someone completely left field? It was just over two years ago that news of Tonali’s transfer came out of nowhere, despite everyone speculating we were going for Nicolo Barella.
And Eddie Howe more often that not gets his man, so we’ll just have to see how the next two months of the window unfold before we can conclusively say that his priorities and demands were met this summer.
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