Eddie Howe has spoken about the appointment of Ross Wilson at Newcastle United.placeholder image
Eddie Howe has spoken about the appointment of Ross Wilson at Newcastle United. | Getty Images
Newcastle United are considering new contracts for the likes of Sven Botman, Sandro Tonali, Tino Livramento, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar and more.
The Magpies had been searching for a sporting director following the departure of Paul Mitchell back in June. What followed was a turbulent summer transfer window which saw Newcastle break their record spend and also their record sales figures in a single window.
The move came about after Isak hit out at ‘broken promises’ from Newcastle understood to be in relation to a new contract. The striker still had around three years left on his deal at St James’ Park but talks did not advance regarding a new deal and Isak ultimately forced a move away from the club.
In order to avoid a similar situation in the future, Newcastle will be monitoring its players and their respective contracts closely, with several key players already identified for talks.
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Ross Wilson set to take charge of contract negotiations
The appointment of Wilson is a step in the right direction when it comes to new deals for key players at Newcastle.
The likes of Fabian Schar, Kieran Trippier are understood to be out of contract at the end of the current season and free to leave should new deals not be agreed. Nick Pope’s contract was also set to be up at the end of the season but the goalkeeper is understood to have triggered an extension.
Sven Botman, who has impressed since returning from injury, has less than two years left on his deal.
Two key players for The Magpies in Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento have less than three years left on their contracts but have attracted interest from elsewhere. They will have just two years left on their contracts come the end of the season if Newcastle aren’t able to strike new deals.
When asked about any new contracts being in the offing, head coach Eddie Howe said: “Not as far as I know. That was one that was probably waiting for Ross to come in as sporting director at take the lead on that.
“Those conversations will all be lead by Ross and of course I’m sure he is all over that, looking at the contract length of all the players and starting conversations accordingly. If there is any news I’ll update you.”
Eddie Howe on Ross Wilson appointment
Wilson will be the third sporting director Howe has worked under since arriving at Newcastle almost four years ago.
After a frosty relationship with Wilson’s predecessor, Mitchell, Howe believes the new sporting director has got off on the right foot on Tyneside.
“I've known Ross for a number of years, but like many people in his role, he's sort of a fleeting, hi, how are you, and you don't get to know them on any depth, on any level,” Howe said. “He's someone that's been around the game for a long time, he's had various jobs and done really well from the outside.
“If course, working with him now, it will be interesting to see how our relationship develops. First impressions of him and his work is very good.
“Firstly, just a really good person, he's fitted in really well so far and he's met all the players and all the staff and seems a really positive person.I'm sure he can make a huge difference.
“I wasn't totally away from the [appointment] process, but I wasn't heavily involved in it. But certainly, I backed Ross's appointment and yeah, I hope we can work together really well and bring further success.
“I think it’s such a big organisation now, any football club, that you need strong leadership through the football club. And there's so much to do.
“If you look at contract lengths and transfers, there's so much work going on behind the scenes that I can only be across a certain part of it.
“My main job is to coach the team and make sure the team's ready to play at the weekends. And then behind that, there's, as I say, a body of work going on to make sure that we recruit the right players, that we have the right systems in place to improve the football club on every level.”
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