The £125million sale has had an impact on Newcastle United this season and Eddie Howe knows that better than anyone
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe, and Liverpool strikers Alexander Isak (left) and Hugo Ekitike
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe, and Liverpool strikers Alexander Isak (left) and Hugo Ekitike
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Eddie Howe believes that Kieran Trippier's exit at Newcastle United is the end of an era - and warned that the Magpies must bring in better players this summer or face another season of struggle.
Trippier made a tearful farewell in front of a full house in the 3-1 win over West Ham last night and will be joined by Emil Krafth and John Ruddy on the leavers list, while Anthony Gordon is also set to join Bayern Munich. It will be a busy summer again for the Magpies and Howe has warned the Toon owners that they can't afford to make a weak start to the summer transfer window.
Speaking after the final home game of the season, Howe indicated that there would be changes at St James' Park. He said: "The transfer window is very difficult to predict. Players may well leave. If they do, they do; if they don't, we move on with the group we have.
"But we are doing things to try to improve. If people do leave, we need to bring in better players. The team and the squad can't get weaker, that is my big thing."
Newcastle have got through a season without Alexander Isak but have dropped from the top five to mid-table. The Newcastle manager referenced the Swedish star whose transfer bombshell last summer set the wheels in motion for a new-look United side, and Howe understands the way teams will constantly evolve with players leaving and new ones coming in.
Howe said: "It has almost been the end of one type of Newcastle team when Alexander left, a new team was forming. Kieran Trippier was an iconic full-back and starts that again.
"That is the nature of football, it is changing and evolving all the time, it changes so quickly, sometimes it has changed slowly. This summer we might see a change of speed.
"It is about coming out stronger but it may well be different, but it still needs to be effective."
The win left Newcastle with a slim chance of getting into the Europa Conference League in the final round of games but they need Spurs to beat Chelsea in midweek then hope for a win over Fulham and results to go their way.
Howe said: "We can look back with huge frustration at the season because it could have been very different. But as in football, as in life, you can't go back and change it. So all we are focusing on now is what we are delivering now, and that was a decent performance."
Howe could not play down the size of the task in front of Newcastle after failing to qualify for Europe and looking like a deflated outfit in the final few weeks of the campaign. He added: "It's a big summer for us, a huge summer for the football club. The results how you finish the season give hope for the next and that is what we are trying to do.
"You never know what can happen. It does feel it has the potential to be that summer for us, but regardless of big change or not we have to come out of that transfer window stronger."
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