Howe is given assurances on transfer deals
EDDIE Howe is hopeful progress on the transfer front can be made this week after receiving assurances from Newcastle United owner Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
The Toon supremo jetted in from the Middle East to watch the Magpies’ FA Cup defeat to Cambridge and made a surprise visit to the dressing room to speak to the players and management.
The PIF chairman first headed for the changing rooms and Howe said: “I was not in there for that.
“He saw me with my coaching team after that.
“I believe he was very supportive to the players, highlighted the fact he was very much in this fight to stay in the league and very much behind everybody.”
Howe knows he has the backing to bring in new players and while there is not a bottomless pit of cash any deal he can prove is good value for the club will be pursued by the club’s top brass.
United have stayed in talks with defender Sven Botman’s representatives but with AC Milan, fighting for Italy’s Serie A title with city rivals Inter this term, also still keen it may take a bid of more than € 40m to seal the deal.
The centre-back’s representatives refused to deny Newcastle’s strong interest over the weekend but said they are not interested in giving a running commentary on any deal.
However, United are leaving no stone unturned and have a range of other options including West Ham’s Issa Diop, who could cost them £11m.
Diop is still being used by West Ham and played in their 2-0 FA Cup win over Leeds on Sunday.
He is out of contract in 2023 and has a year extension option on top of that, which leaves West Ham in a strong position on his fee.
The other new name added to the long list of Toon targets is Monaco’s 20-year-old centre-back Benoit Badiashile.
Wolves have been trying to put together a structured deal of 30 million euros for him but have yet to strike gold with the French side.
NEWCASTLE United’s clash with Watford has more significance than any cup tie for Eddie Howe this season – and the truth is that was always the case, both in the optimistic build-up to Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Cambridge United and the ugly aftermath which has followed.
The Magpies made the back page of every national Sunday newspaper at the weekend, but not for the right reasons.
In fact, the national press pack who had been assigned to cover the game thinking it would have a straightforward third-round tie to report on which was destined for a weekend pullout was suddenly presented with the biggest story of the round.
Cambridge then found themselves given the honour of being first on Match of the Day, a moment which brought radio presenter Max Rushden – a diehard U’s fan – to tears as he watched on.
There is no doubt about it, Cambridge deserve every romantic moment they get after knocking out Newcastle on the big stage and there can be no excuses from a Toon point of view.
Even with key injuries to their strikers, £40m Joelinton – signed to score goals – should have been enough to scare off the League One side.
Even on the back of a Covid crisis at St James’ Park, the team sheet was strong enough for Eddie Howe and his progress.
However, the game is gone now and the distraction of the FA Cup, for better or worse, is water under the Tyne Bridge.
Beating Cambridge would have been one thing and it would have lifted the mood but beating the U’s and then losing to Watford this weekend?
The alarm bells would rightly be ringing.
If the Hornets do emerge with the full complement of three points, those alarm bells will be ringing a loud as they have for more than half a decade on Tyneside.
Quite simply, Howe’s team cannot afford to gift Watford a fivepoint gap in the ugly dogfight at the bottom of the table. back-room team to
So this game is bigger than any cup tie, this game is even bigger than any of the Champions League games Newcastle have played against Barcelona or any final the club have contested.
Why? Because it is the next one – this is the future we are talking about.
This is the game which needs to be won to ensure a safer passage to less rocky ground.
This
Watford manager Claudio Ranieri
is the game which can turn an awful season back around again.
This is the game which can get things up and running for Howe and his backroom team after an unspectacular start.
It might sound like we are clutching at straws but the cup exit, as painful as it has been, might just refocus any potential wandering minds at United. There is no doubt one day, one day, the new owners h a v e ambitions