Eddie Howe has hinted that Newcastle United’s run of three barren transfer windows is beginning to impact the Magpies at St James’ Park as the Magpies limp towards the Premier League finish line.
The head coach has not made a major signing since summer 2023 when Sandro Tonali arrived from AC Milan for £55million. As CEO Darren Eales this week told the public that the jaws of PSR are loosening ahead of the summer window, it was little consolation for Howe who sees his squad looking threadbare ahead of the Carabao Cup final and the Champions League run-in with stars like Anthony Gordon, Sven Botman and Lewis Hall all out for the foreseeable future as suspensions and injuries pile up.
A clear lack of depth at Newcastle sees Howe working with 17 first-team outfield players going into crunch games at West Ham and Liverpool at Wembley for the Carabao Cup showpiece. When asked if the lack of transfer activity means it is an extra challenge to keep the current squad on their toes sometimes, Howe told Chronicle Live: “I have tried to answer this question diplomatically before. Yes, that is a challenge.
“I always like a fresh face through the door, ideally every window. I think it adds a different stimulus to the squad. There are two things: you want to impress the player who is coming in, and all the players want to show that they are good players, too. Also, the new player coming in wants to impress and say: ‘I can add value to the squad’.
“That is a really healthy thing to have and the benefits of that are huge. It also adds a freshness to your squad and a slightly unknown feel to what is going to happen and to a degree with the same squad for three windows in a row it does add challenges. Those are challenges that we can still overcome and we have to overcome but that’s how I would see it.”
Newcastle now take on West Ham at the London Stadium with the visit to the capital the next chance for the Magpies to bounce back from their FA Cup heartache against Brighton. Fabian Hurzeler’s side swung in with a late sucker punch with the game moments away from a penalty shoot out as Newcastle were denied a place in the quarter-finals of the much-loved competition.
Although, Howe was grateful for small mercies after getting two extra days on the training field at Benton.
Howe said: “I suppose in that sense it hasn’t been that bad a week after all, I think that was perfect for us because we had the eight day gap. I think we needed a couple of days where we just refreshed, regrouped and then came back together and got everything out of our system – the Brighton result, the injuries that we’ve suffered.
“I’ve been pleased with the response this week, it’s going to be a long wait for the West Ham game, this period over the weekend is always quite long when you’re playing a Monday, but in some senses it increases our preparation time.”
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/eddie-howe-delivers-clear-transfer-31149831
