Exclusive: Club chiefs reassure manager he will continue to hold significant power after he sparked alarm with comments about restructuring
Newcastle United have held clear-the-air talks with Eddie Howe over his future at the club and are confident he would reject any potential interest from England.
The club’s board were alarmed by Howe’s comments on Friday when he expressed concern over changes in the management structure this summer and questioned his future if those issues were not addressed.
Howe’s public expression of frustration came after the appointment of Paul Mitchell as sporting director and the sudden departure of co-owner Amanda Staveley, with the manager’s future coming into focus as he was made favourite to succeed Gareth Southgate with England.
When asked about the situation last Friday, Howe said: “There’s absolutely no point in me saying I’m happy staying at Newcastle if the dynamic isn’t right. I’m certainly not serving Newcastle well if I do that.”
Newcastle had not been warned Howe would go public with his frustrations and rather than rebuke their manager, the key power brokers have offered reassurances he will continue to hold significant power and will not be reduced to a first-team coach.
In those meetings, led by chief executive Darren Eales, they also reassured Howe he would have a say in recruitment and be involved in all major decisions over the club’s direction of travel.
Howe is said to have been pacified by promises the new management structure will be a collaboration between himself and Mitchell, as well as performance director James Bunce, and nothing will be imposed on him.
Howe will receive shortlist of transfer targets
That is thought to be particularly important in the area of recruitment, as one of Howe’s red lines is understood to have been the fear players would be signed for the first team that he did not want.
In turn, Howe has declared that he is more than happy to allow a shortlist of players to be drawn up for him to assess, which includes players from abroad rather than just those with Premier League experience.
Indeed, Howe has stressed that he has always been happy to recruit from foreign markets, pointing out that he was the driving force behind the signings of Brazilian Bruno Guimaraes, Dutchman Sven Botman and Sweden international Alexander Isak.
Player sales have also been discussed and it would appear increasingly certain that England international Kieran Trippier will be sold this summer, with interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia. There are also doubts about midfielder Sean Longstaff, who only has a year left on his contract, as well as winger Miguel Almiron and centre forward Callum Wilson, who has picked up a back injury early in pre-season.
Mitchell is believed to be planning to overhaul Newcastle’s scouting department and made it clear in an interview with in-house media last week that the presence of Howe was one of the reasons he was so keen to take the job as sporting director.
Eales had also described Howe as “phenomenal” and insisted last week they would reject any approach from the FA to interview the former Bournemouth manager who signed a new long-term contract last summer that does not contain a release clause.
Newcastle’s recruitment plans have been disrupted by the recent changes and it will be fascinating to see how Mitchell and Howe address the main weaknesses in the squad.
A right-sided forward and a right-sided centre-back are the most pressing concerns, while a midfielder and striker will have to be signed if Longstaff and Wilson depart.
