Newcastle United transfers: Eddie Howe has explained why Jamaal Lascelles and Matt Targett will play the remainder of the season in the Championship.
Eddie Howe admitted putting the wants and needs of Newcastle United’s fringe players over the potential needs of his squad during a defensive injury crisis.
Howe had just four fit senior defenders to choose from at one stage during a busy winter fixture schedule. Meanwhile, Matt Targett was thriving on loan at Middlesbrough in the Championship and Jamaal Lascelles was being proverbially wrapped in cotton wool after a lengthy injury absence to allow him to leave the club and play regular first-team football.
Newcastle had a clause to recall Targett in January, but refrained from triggering it while also agreeing to let Lascelles leave to join Leicester City in the Championship.
NUFC’s defensive selection issues
It leaves Howe still short of depth in defence and the fixtures are showing no sign of slowing down. Fabian Schar is set to be out until the back end of the season, Tino Livramento has been ruled out until March while Emil Krafth hasn’t featured in three months due to a knee problem.
Dan Burn has only recently returned from a punctured lung while Sven Botman has been nursing a thigh issue and has a well-documented injury history. Malick Thiaw is the only defender who has remained fit throughout, but playing every game is starting to take its toll on the German as the mistakes are starting to creep in more regularly.
Lewis Miley helped alleviate some of the defensive injury issues by covering at right-back and centre-back. But now the 19-year-old is an injury concern himself and will miss the upcoming Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester City.
Assessing his squad after the winter window closed with no incomings and one notable outgoing in Lascelles, Howe said: “The squad is okay.
“I think if it was a fully fit squad, it’d be really strong in all areas. Of course, it’s not. So we need to get our injured players back fit.
“Until we do that, I think there’ll be a slight imbalance and we’re certainly stretched defensively. But yeah, of course, I’m very happy with the squad.”
Eddie Howe questioned about defensive transfer decisions
While Newcastle were reluctant to do any transfer business in January, they were in control of keeping a defender in Lascelles or recalling another in Targett during the window.
Both players were in the final six months of their contract at St James’ Park and would be free to find new clubs in the summer regardless.
But rather than call upon them to bolster the squad, Newcastle respected both players’ wishes of regular first team football - meaning they had already played their final games for The Magpies.
When asked why Newcastle didn’t turn to Lascelles or Targett as solutions to the club’s defensive injury problems, Howe said: “Because it's not just for our wants and needs, there's another side to look at it, and that's the players' perspective.
“So I don't think it is wise to force things on players that they don't want because you have to have a harmonious dressing room here.
"You have to have a group that is all aligned in the same direction. And of course, that is no criticism of the players, everybody has different contract lengths and they have to think about their long-term futures.
"Certainly, both players are highly valued by us. But we have to make long-term decisions that help the football club on a daily basis."
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