This time last year, the Magpies were wrestling with a need to balance the books before the end of June in order to avoid the very real threat of a points penalty.
The situation was resolved when Elliot Anderson joined Nottingham Forest and Yankuba Minteh moved to Brighton, but Howe readily admitted at the time he did not really want to lose either player.
Twelve months on, and Newcastle’s position in relation to the Premier League’s PSR regulations is much improved, meaning that instead of desperately looking to move players on at the start of the transfer window, the Magpies will be attempting to kickstart their summer with some additions of their own.
“I always have to say that this is as far as I’m aware,” said Howe, whose side can look forward to a return to the Champions League next season after finishing in fifth position despite yesterday’s final-day loss to Everton. “But as far as I’m aware, we do not have any PSR issues heading into this deadline.
“Now, I have to put a caveat in there because I’m not seeing the figures – I’m only relaying what I’m getting told. But I think we’re in a lot healthier position and a lot stronger position than we were at this time last year.
“We’re looking to reverse what we did last summer. This time, we’re in a strong position ourselves where we’ll be looking to make additions to the squad.”
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To that end, Howe was preparing to head straight into a meeting with Newcastle chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan in the aftermath of yesterday’s game at St James’ Park.
Al-Rumayyan was in attendance at St James’ Park, along with other senior representatives from the Saudi Arabian PIF, and headed onto the pitch after the final whistle to congratulate Howe, his fellow coaches and Newcastle’s players.
“I will have a discussion with the chairman and representatives from PIF today, and I’m looking forward to that,” said the Magpies boss. “We’ll be trying to lay some foundations for what lies ahead in the summer.
“In terms of timings and everything that follows that, I don’t know, but the planning and all the things that go on behind the scenes have been there for a number of weeks now. We’ve been working hard to try to set things up for what we need to do.”
Newcastle’s financial position will be improved further by the guarantee of Champions League football next season, with Howe confident that al-Rumayyan remains as committed and ambitious as ever.
“I think whenever I speak to the chairman, he is very focused on success,” said Howe. “He is focused on achieving and winning, and he always leaves me in doubt that that’s what he wants. I’m working towards that.”