Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe and sporting director Paul Mitchell
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe and sporting director Paul Mitchell
Newcastle United have a completely different mindset going into this summer as Eddie Howe looks to 'act quickly' to sign the 'best players'
Premier League clubs will be able to recruit from June 1 until June 10 before the window reopens on June 16. Newcastle are pencilled in to return for pre-season on July 7 and Howe would ideally like top targets through the door as soon as possible to give them a chance to adapt to his intense way of working before the start of the campaign.
It does not always work out like that, of course. Alexander Isak, for instance, completed his club-record move in the final days of the window in 2022, but Newcastle are looking at a relatively small pool of targets to reinforce a side who are on course for the most successful season in memory and competition will be fierce in the market.
"My mindset is always the same when you come to this time of the year," Howe told reporters. "You want to act quickly because usually the best players, the best available options, will move quite quickly.
"If you're too late to react, you can miss out on potential transfers that could really make the difference. I'm of the mindset that you need to be ready at every moment, whether that's early, late or in the middle. We pride ourselves on identifying our targets quickly and then we have to act quickly and efficiently as a football club."
What a contrast to the situation Newcastle found themselves in a year ago when the black-and-whites faced a race against time to raise funds before June 30 to avoid a PSR breach. Although Newcastle managed to do so, through the sales of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh, it still proved a frustrating summer. Paul Mitchell arrived three weeks into the window and the sporting director later admitted it was 'difficult' coming into a pre-defined strategy after the Magpies failed to strengthen their starting line-up.
CEO Darren Eales has since said he is 'excited' about the upcoming window because of the alignment between Mitchell and Howe on signing the players that 'Eddie wants'. Newcastle are certainly in a much healthier PSR position and that is before mentioning the fact that the black-and-whites could still be in line for a significant financial boost if Howe's side qualify for the Champions League on the final day.
Ahead of the window opening next month, Howe has spoken of a 'difference in mentality' and 'different possibilities' to boot.
"From a recruitment perspective, definitely, yes, because I think we knew that we weren't recruiting last summer," he said. "It was going to be the opposite so, naturally, that's a different feeling when you're involved in the final decision. Without knowing how the window is going to unfold, you have lots of positivity at the start and then you see how it goes through the window."
Finishing in the top five will only help, of course, if Newcastle manage to defeat Everton on Sunday. The financial rewards have been well-documented - football finance expert Kieran Maguire previously told ChronicleLive it would be 'transformative' for Newcastle - but there is also the prestige of sitting at Europe's top table.
Qualifying for the Champions League a couple of seasons ago was a 'massive help' in luring a heavyweight signing like Sandro Tonali from AC Milan and Newcastle's current players and staff are hungry to test themselves on such a grand stage again.
“It’s about the footballing achievement," Howe added.. "Everyone will talk about finances and I understand why. Of course that is important, but we want to play against the best teams in the best competitions and to try and win those competitions. Ultimately that is your aim. That's why you are there competing.
"If you are competitors by nature, you take on the biggest challenge and you go for it .That is what we are desperate to do. There are benefits from that which run right through the club so that would all be positive for us. That is why we are so desperate to get there.”