The Magpies had to reinvent themselves this summer and Eddie Howe feels it is still going to take time to recover from Alexander Isak sale
Nick Woltemade meets Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe
Nick Woltemade and Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe(Image: Newcastle United via Getty Images)
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Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has lifted the lid on the practicalities of the club's turbulent summer - two months on since Alexander Isak was sold to Liverpool.
Howe admits that some of new signings have not had the chance to bed in properly on Tyneside but the longer-term future remains bright. Both Yoane Wissa and Jacob Ramsey suffered early injuries after arriving from Premier League rivals but Howe admits that cohesion was always likely to be a factor in United's form in the opening quarter of the 2025/26 campaign.
Offering reassurance on the new signings, which contributed to a £250m summer shopping spree, Howe said: "They will bring a lot. We are really happy with the business we did in the summer and we signed some really good players.
"Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, and Aaron Ramsdale have not played a lot of football. Two of them through injury so we hope they have really bright futures ahead.
"Then you look at the contribution of Nick Woltemade and Anthony Elanga. We are really pleased with both, they have made good starts here."
Isak's exit combined with relatively late arrivals for Ramsey, Nick Woltemade, Malick Thiaw and Wissa have made for a tricky adjustment period for Howe's squad.
Howe, speaking to Super Sport, said: "We suffered with (cohesion) in August. Everything was done quite late.
"We weren't able to get the work we would have wanted during pre-season we would have wanted.
"A lot of meetings and tactical sessions need to be delivered quite quickly. So the new players understand what is expected of them in the system we play.
"We have been trying to cram a lot of that work in. Hopefully, we are beginning to get there with that understanding, and we can improve from this point."
One of the big acceptances behind the scenes at Newcastle is the fact United are juggling three competitions - something the club still aren't used to. True, they had a taste of this in 2023 but it was so short-lived, Newcastle reverted back to a domestic schedule.
Howe said: "Unfortunately, we have not been training that much. We have just had a lot of games. Saturday, midweek, Sunday."
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