· December 20 2024, 12:30
Eddie Howe has never really been one to give reporters much to go on when it comes to transfer business but the Newcastle United boss now has the best excuse to swerve the questions.
Speaking to the media this morning (via The Northern Echo) ahead of tomorrow's game against Ipswich, Howe was asked about the plans for the January transfer window.
Even when Howe was heavily involved in transfers he never gave much away, but now that Paul Mitchell has taken over the reins in order to allow Howe to focus on winning matches, he has an inbuilt shield.
One thing Howe has done very well is temper expectations heading into the new year transfer window and has spouted the 'we have no money because of PSR' rhetoric perfectly.
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Paul Mitchell is the man who deals with transfers now
Eddie Howe has Paul Mitchell as his transfer talk human shield
Howe didn't use the skint excuse this morning when asked, but he certainly did his best to hide behind Paul Mitchell. However, when asked about one specific deal which has been reported as being close, Howe was very straightforward.
It has been reported this week that Johan Bakayoko was close to agreeing a move to Newcastle in January after deciding to leave PSV, but Eddie Howe has shut that talk down.
That’s not the reality (that a deal for Bakayoko is close). We’re not close to sealing any transfer or closing in on any player. For me, It's been very, very loose discussions. There hasn't been many discussions in great depth on January and that's because we've got a lot of games.
"Our focus is on the matches and we're restricted to a degree in what we can and can't do. So I don't think that's our main focus at the moment, certainly not mine anymore. But of course we're aware January's around the corner and we'll need to be reactive and ready."
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Newcastle could publish their accounts showing a negative balance and we'd still be linked with players
In all honesty, it doesn't matter what the reality is, Newcastle are going to be linked with many players between now and February when the window closes, so it becomes a personal choice - do you read all the transfer links and live in hope, or do you ignore everything and wait for that photo of the new arrival on the St James' Park pitch holding the shirt?
I, of course, have no choice in the matter as it's my job to read all these links, no matter how insane, but I do have the option to only write about the ones that I think have any weight to them, or are just too hilarious to ignore.
At the end of the day, it's all opinion until it becomes fact, and half the fun is the speculation. Let's enjoy the ride and hope we come out of January with a stronger squad this time.