Kieran Trippier’s exit once his contract ends has already been confirmed, with Fabian Schar also due to reach the end of his current deal in a couple of months’ time.
Tino Livramento, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon have all been linked with potential moves away from the Magpies in the last couple of weeks, with major question marks also hanging over the future of Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade, neither of whom have lived up to their billing since joining Newcastle in expensive, high-profile moves last summer.
It feels as though the core of the side that Howe led to Carabao Cup glory just over a year ago is set to be ripped apart, which raises further questions over how the Newcastle hierarchy will set about replacing some of the key elements of their squad.
“I can understand why people would look at it and say that [there’s going to be a summer of change],” admitted Howe, whose side head into tomorrow’s home game with Bournemouth sitting in 14th position in the table. “There’s a few players out of contract and you’ve got some big players who have done amazing things for the club maybe entering their final few months of their time here.
“You’ve got possibly players leaving in the summer and that natural evolution on that side, which happens at a football club. So, I can understand why the ‘end of a cycle’ might be used.
“What that looks like is unknown. It’s always unknown. It’s almost impossible to predict a summer transfer window and say, ‘This will happen’ or ‘That will happen’. It’s been impossible in every window I’ve ever managed because the moving forces in football are so difficult to predict.
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“But I think the key thing for the football club, and for me as the manager, is to make sure we come out stronger for it. That’s with smart decisions, good decisions, and good recruitment. However, the next few months looks, it’s about making sure we’re stronger, and to do that you need your processes and departments in place that can run that in an elite way.”
Gordon’s future has created headlines this week, with the England international having been linked with both Bayern Munich and Liverpool amid suggestions that he is keen to investigate the possibility of moving on this summer.
Howe has not felt the need to discuss the specifics of Gordon’s situation with the forward this week, but insists he would not select him for tomorrow’s game with Bournemouth if he did not feel his commitment levels were at 100 per cent.
“I discuss things with players all the time,” said Howe. “I don’t necessarily discuss transfer speculation unless I feel it’s got to a point where I have to. After the chat I had with Sandro [earlier in the season], I think the biggest thing I look for is the commitment to training because if I see the commitment to the training ground work, the player will perform.
“That’ll be the same with Anthony, that’ll be the same with every player. One thing I’m not going to do is play a player, any player, if I don’t feel they’re 100 per cent committed to the club and its future. Because that commitment, that resolve, what a player gives the team, has to be total.
“I’m not talking about Anthony here, I’m talking generally across the board. I’ve always got to do what I think is right for the team and I’ll continue to do that.”
That said, though, when it comes to the upcoming transfer window, there is a strong determination to avoid a repeat of last summer, when Newcastle were left floundering as the saga surrounding Alexander Isak played out.
With a new CEO and sporting director in place in David Hopkinson and Ross Wilson, the Magpies should be much better placed to be on the front foot when it comes to this summer’s transfer business.
“I agree that last summer we were reactive, through no one’s fault,” said Howe. “With the way the window went, we always felt we were on the back foot, catching up to a degree. That’s why it was such a difficult summer, which fell into a very difficult early season for us.
“In terms of this summer, it’s difficult to know. My role in it will be identifying players to sign, but as we found last year, that’s no guarantee you’re going to get them. Then, of course, you have to change and try to find other options. Hopefully, we’re not doing that too often otherwise you tend to lose the quality of the first targets.
“A lot of that comes down to your planning and organisation behind the scenes, and now of course that’s a lot stronger than it was last year. The appointments we’ve had will hopefully put us in a much better position to execute everything that we need to.”