Eddie Howe has ‘no problem’ managing egos but the Newcastle United boss reiterated that the Magpies have to bring in the ‘right’ characters this summer.
Howe warned his players that putting the team first was a ‘non-negotiable’ in one of his very first meetings with the squad and the 46-year-old has been wary of disrupting a tight-knit dressing room with signings who do not buy into that mentality. Newcastle have carried out detailed background checks on prospective arrivals to try and ensure that is not the case and selfish individuals have been as good as discounted over the years.
Newcastle look into targets’ living situations, family set-ups and motivations by speaking to trusted sources who have previously worked with them and former recruitment consultant Anton Robinson previously told ChronicleLive that Howe needs to know ‘every single detail about the person’. That is not always possible, of course. Sandro Tonali, for instance, kept his gambling addiction secret even from those closest to him, but loan coordinator Shola Ameobi admitted that the ‘manner in which we scrutinise every incoming player will be different because of what’s happened’ following the Italy international’s 10-month ban.
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These character checks will be more crucial than ever in what Howe has termed a ‘hugely important’ summer window and every signing has to count to spare the club a financial headache down the line.
“I’ve got no problem managing egos,” Howe stressed to reporters. “They’re there. They exist. It’s about how you manage the squad and the protocols that you choose to try and keep the squad in a good place.
“So far, this season, everything has been really good. The harmony in the squad has been excellent. The squad have battled really hard in difficult situations.
“With recruitment, of course, you’ve got to get the characters you bring into the group right. It’s so important you get the ones that will fit not just the playing style, but off the pitch as well in terms of their mentality and their conduct. We put a lot of emphasis on that and, hopefully, when it comes down to that point, we will make the right decisions.”
Howe has a ‘clear vision’ of what he wants to do this summer, but the Newcastle boss was the first to admit that realising it is ‘something totally different’ given how unpredictable the window will be. The reality is that, with the transfer and wage budgets on offer at this stage of the project, Newcastle are looking at individuals from a small pool with the ‘potential to become world class’ rather than the finished article.
Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak are among such players who have gone on to be big successes at the club and keeping hold of these talents could be every bit as important as who comes in. A ‘happy’ Bruno, for his part, has said that he ‘hopes’ he can stay at St James’ Park, and it is worth noting that the Brazil international’s £100m release clause is only active until the final week of June, while Isak ‘wants to be here in the future’ and does ‘not want to entertain these types of rumours’.
Trading would help Newcastle create headroom to reinvest in the squad, but Howe suggested he could still do what he wants this summer without having to sell a key player – even if the Magpies boss, naturally, can’t offer any guarantees on that front.
“These ‘big-name’ player sales are the talk of everything, but I don’t know what’s going to happen this summer,” he added. “I can’t predict the future but whatever happens, we can fight, live again and create a slightly different team.
“That might be what we have to do but it’s certainly not what I want to do. I want to make minimal changes, but changes that can transport us forward. We just have to adjust when it happens.”
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View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/newcastle-shut-down-egos-myth-29065857
