Eddie Howe hints at 'busy' summer in transfer chat with former Newcastle coach as pressure is on

 

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has looked ahead to the summer transfer window with Mark Lawrenson and the Magpies are set to make further signings after a productive January

Eddie Howe hopes that it will be a 'busy summer' at Newcastle United but the head coach has stressed that it 'certainly won't be a revolution'.

Although Howe's immediate focus is on finishing the campaign strongly with the players currently at his disposal, those above him have started planning for next season. The hierarchy originally earmarked this window to do most of their trading in 2022 but, because of Newcastle's predicament in the table at the time, £93m ended up being spent on Bruno Guimaraes, Chris Wood, Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier in January while Matt Targett was also signed on loan.

Newcastle plan to make further quality additions in the summer, but the Magpies will have to also let players go to make room for any further arrivals. The squad is already full as it is - Ciaran Clark, Jamal Lewis and Isaac Hayden were omitted from the 25-man list for the second half of the season - while Jeff Hendrick and Freddie Woodman were among those players who were loaned out.

It is also worth noting that the owners are keen to comply with UEFA's new financial sustainability regulations, which will eventually limit clubs competing in European competitions to spend 70% of revenue on wages, transfers and agents fees by 2025-26. Newcastle are currently running at about 65% when it comes to wages to turnover and while future sponsorship deals will boost revenues, clearly, the powers at be are going to have to be smart with their recruitment in the years to come.

"I think, naturally, there will be some change," Howe told Stadium Astro pundit and former Newcastle coach Mark Lawrenson. "We have to evolve slightly, we have to improve.

"The pressure is on us to do that. We hope a busy summer, but it certainly won't be a revolution. We've got a good core group of players who we hope can take us a long way."