Eddie Howe has been increasingly quizzed on what will happen with Newcastle United, when it comes to the January transfer window.
We are now just over a week away from the arrival of 2025 and the opening of this next transfer window.
Eddie Howe this weekend was yet again asked about would happen in terms of Newcastle United and their intentions of bringing new signings in.
The Newcastle United Head Coach replying ‘The message is that we probably, at this moment in time, need to concentrate on the players that we do have and get the best out of them, rather than looking externally.’
Very predictably, this then prompted numerous more lazy articles and headlines, along the lines of Eddie Howe has revealed that he can’t/won’t bring in any major signings next month, that he will have to rely on only the players he has already got.
It is laughable.
Journalists have already written these same articles, the same headlines appearing numerous times already in recent weeks, when asked about the January window.
Then of course we have heard this countless times as well, before and during all transfer windows.
Eddie Howe is the ultimate poker player, he never gives anything away.
Why would you?
What purpose would it serve to tell the media and of course all the other clubs, that Newcastle United intend to do whatever business? It is the same ahead of every match, Eddie Howe frequently misleads the journalists at pre-game press conferences when they ask him about player availability. Time and time again when the team and subs are announced, there are surprises, players missing who journalists (and opposition managers) hadn’t a clue about, the same with surprise players available.
You would think journalists would learn, would be honest and admit they haven’t got a clue in all but a small number of cases.
The ultimate with NUFC journalists was exactly seventeen months ago today, I wrote about it (see below) when he signed. All of the main NUFC journalists were with the Newcastle United squad on the USA tour in Summer 2023, with a lot of negative reports from them on not enough new signings and saying how no chance of any coming in shortly, with Eddie Howe having told them…
The very same day that Howe told the media yet again that no signings were imminent, as he was saying it, Newcastle had already signed Harvey Barnes and he was on his way to America to join up with the rest of the squad. Not a single journalist had a clue until the club unveiled him!
Which brings me back to Eddie Howe and the January 2025 transfer window…
The truth is, the NUFC journalists haven’t got a clue what is going to happen.
Maybe Newcastle United won’t make any first team signings next month. However, there is every chance they will and Eddie Howe indicating this isn’t going to be the case, is meaningless. As has been shown time after time, he doesn’t give anything away, unless he has a reason to do so.
It did of course become clear why Newcastle United didn’t make any major signings in January 2024, in June 2024 we discovered the PSR situation was critical and thus the sales of Minteh and Anderson were forced to happen, in order for NUFC to stay within their PSR limits.
That is not the case now.
A few squad players arrived in the summer but no major signing, the Marc Guehi chase ending up in a position where Newcastle United never got to the finishing line.
Newcastle do have the flexibility to spend money in January, if they choose to. How much money they could spend is an unknown.
Any outgoing sales will of course help increase the flexibility of what could be possible, in terms of commitment on transfer fees and wages.
Of course, it is a never ending process, so the more you spend in January 2025, the less flexibility you have when it comes to spending in the summer 2025 window. With obviously the opposite as well, if you don’t spend major money next month, a lot more flex is possible next summer when it comes to incoming signings.
I think major business in January will depend massively on the availability and price tag of NUFC targets, plus whether or not Newcastle can move on squad players who they are willing to trade.
It all very much depends on timing and right player at right price. Newcastle pushed the boat out when Anthony Gordon became available in January 2023, when they hadn’t intended any major business.
Moving back to the here and now, I think we would all be amazed if by the time the 2025/26 season kicks off, Newcastle haven’t signed a young(er) central defender who can play in the right centre-back position.
So if Marc Guehi (or another target) wants to come and his club are willing to trade at a decent price, then I think that signing could well be made next month. However, Eddie Howe and Newcastle United have repeatedly shown that they won’t make a major investment on just anybody, if their top targets aren’t possible in any particular window.
Marc Guehi
Of course, the Guehi situation sees him still refusing to sign any contract extension and Palace’s position getting ever weaker, if it goes beyond January without a sale, only a year left on his contract and the fear of losing him for absolutely nothing.
Marc Guehi is comfortable playing as either right or left centre-back which makes him especially interesting I think for Eddie Howe. Fact is that Palace have conceded 26 goals, only two clubs outside the bottom four have conceded more than that, so every chance Palace may think that now is the time to trade.
Eddie Howe has an incredible record on signings since arriving, every major outlay has seen significant talent added to the squad.
I think that with that record, it equals trust from the Newcastle United owners.
I know we have had a change of Director of Football but the final say for sure will remain with Eddie Howe, when it comes to the key major signings. Unlike other clubs, he won’t be handed a new first team contender that he isn’t happy about.
I suppose as well that it is in line with messages that come out of the club regularly now, that it isn’t about just one transfer window, especially with how PSR works.
My belief is that by the time we get to the end of the summer, Newcastle United will have brought in a number of first team contenders AND a number of squad players will have left. How much of that business happens in January and/or the summer will very much depend on availability of targets and when.
Here’s hoping Eddie Howe can get one or more major boosts in January 2025, in a season which is now opening up to real possibilities on the pitch.
Harvey Barnes Goal Celebration Fulham Newcastle
My article on The Mag back when Harvey Barbes was announced as a Newcastle United player – 23 July 2023:
‘Harvey Barnes is now a Newcastle United player.
An official club announcement at 3pm (10am on the East Coast of USA) on Sunday revealing the news.
Great to see Harvey Barnes now in black and white and yet again we see how clueless the NUFC media are these days.
Only hours earlier Eddie Howe kept a straight face, telling the NUFC journalists who had traveled to the States that no signing was imminent, including Harvey Barnes.
The NUFC media lapped this up as fact, many of them putting a real negative spin on Howe’s words, when are Newcastle United going to get any more signings in etc etc…
However, whilst Eddie Howe was telling them nothing had so far been agreed, the truth was that Harvey Barnes was actually en route to the United States and the deal was already all signed off!!!
Not a single NUFC journalist having a clue.
So when Newcastle United formally announced the deal at 3pm UK time today, Harvey Barnes had already met up with Eddie Howe, his coaching team and the rest of the Newcastle United squad!
I absolute love the way things are done now, instead of the club leaking like a sieve back in the days of Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce, now everything done so professionally and the NUFC media totally in the dark. They only find out now about signings having been made at the same time as the fans!!’