Speaking to the media at St James’ Park last night, Eddie Howe talked transfers, our tough summer and jumped to the owner’s defence after some damning comments on the current Alexander Isak saga.
Signings are essential and needed quickly, with two strikers, a midfielder and a centre-back still needed. But will the club be able to salvage what has been an abysmal summer so far, sadly.
But before we get to Howe’s transfer update, the boss was asked about PIF’s commitment after many have questioned the Saudi project after a lack of signings, stadium updates, new commercial deals or appointments of a new sporting director or CEO.
Howe jumped to their defence, however, stressing that they “care very much” about the project and are “fighting every day” to bring success to the club, hinting that several behind-the-scenes moves in the works after sitting in on recent board meetings:
> **Howe on Saudi owners** – _“The owners are very much engaged. As much as they always have been._
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> _“There is lots going on behind the scenes to take the club forward. Whether that’s stadium or training ground related._
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> _“These things do take time, and there is not a quick decision making process that can fast forward these things any quicker than how long they take!_
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> _“I am not in control of the details, but I am part of board meetings, with all the talk about the future, and they are very much here._
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> _“This has been a challenging period and there will be a lot of different opinions on different subjects, but I_ _can assure everyone connected to Newcastle that the owners are very much behind the project and are fighting every day for the club’s success.”_
On incoming transfers, Howe insisted that we are “focused on a number off positions” and working “incredibly hard” to add new signings to a squad with several “gaps to fill.”
However, he stressed once again that we can’t just bring in the wrong players who could end up having a negative long-term impact if we ditch the “high standards” set:
> **Howe on transfers** – _“I am hopeful. But I’ve been hopeful for a number of weeks. We’re very keen to get some movement. But it has to be the right player, the right price._
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> _“We’re focused on a number of positions and a number of players. We’re still working incredibly hard to try to add. I think we’re one of a number of teams who’ve found it difficult to bring in the right players.”_
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> _“We’re still looking. We’re active, and we’ll be active until we have the squad that we want – and that isn’t the case, clearly, at the moment, with gaps to fill.”_
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> _“The balance of the squad isn’t quite right. We want to adjust that with signings we hope to make. But let’s see what happens in the next few weeks.”_
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> _“We could sign anybody, but if they aren’t the right fit that could have a really detrimental effect for a long time. So we’ve got to hold our high standards and try to bring in the players who will make a difference.”_
Eddie then touched on the number of deals we’ve missed out on this summer, shedding light on the situation that’s haunted us across June, July and August after trying and failing to land Delap, Pedro, Ekitike and Trafford before Sesko became the latest to sign elsewhere this week.
> **Howe on missing out on targets** – _“The club has been dynamic and proactive. There has been a lot reported. Some very accurate, some of it not so._
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> _“But through no fault necessarily of those working behind the scenes, we’ve not been able to close some deals that got very close, then got away from us._
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> _“But that can happen to any deal until it’s signed and sealed. The competition and the small pool of players we have (targeted) is very small, so everyone is fighting for the same players. And we’ve lost out on a number of deals that could’ve fallen our way._
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> _“You do a lot of work on each target, so you have to go back to the drawing board and do it again…while having it in the back of your mind that the (new) player coming in has to make a positive difference._
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> _“So that process has happened a number of times and we’ll have to do it again. I’ve got no issues doing it. There is no guarantees, but let’s see what we can do.”_
Last but not least, Howe offered a positive update on injuries, confirming that Sven Botman will be back in the squad after coming through training with no issued on Friday morning. Joe Willock, however, will miss out:
> **Howe on injuries** _– “Touch wood, everyone who is fit will play – Sven Botman included, who came through a training session today and looked good._
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> _“Joe Willock is the only one who is missing.”_