Newcastle United are now hoping that the situation between Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell has been resolved.
Things have got messy behind the scenes at St James’ Park, while the issues between Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell have been played out in the public eye.
After Newcastle United’s terrible summer transfer window, Alan Shearer called on Mitchell to address the media. In hindsight, Shearer probably wishes that the sporting director had not bothered!
Mitchell’s interview did more bad than good, with the Toon chief deflecting blame away from himself and criticising Newcastle United’s previous recruitment plan. In the aftermath, Eddie Howe defended his signings as Newcastle manager.
A dangerous game has been played on Tyneside, and the fear is that it will lead to a very unhappy ending. Mitchell needs to be careful not to lose Howe, especially with the looming threat of the England job being available.
Newcastle United manager and sporting director hold fresh talks
Alan Shearer recently said that Howe and Mitchell need to sort their issues, otherwise it would impact the Magpies’ performances on the pitch.
Now a new report states that they have done exactly that.
According to iNews, Howe and Mitchell have held fresh talks with each other and there is now a belief inside the club that they can move on from the issues they endured.
iNews also report that Howe has given his backing to Mitchell’s new recruitment plan, after the former Monaco chief criticised the way that Newcastle had previously been operating.
Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell will continue to work together at Newcastle United
With Howe and Mitchell holding fresh talks with each other, the hope will be that they can put the drama behind them and work together.
There were recently suggestions that Mitchell could leave his post at Newcastle United so soon after his arrival at St James’ Park. However, those suggestions have been disputed.
In fact, in a Q&A for the Athletic, journalist Chris Waugh has predicted that neither Howe or Mitchell will be leaving the club ‘imminently’, and his prediction now looks very good after iNews’ update on the situation.
“Do I expect one of Mitchell or Howe to leave imminently? No,” he wrote.
“Newcastle strongly rejected reports earlier this month that Mitchell may walk away, while Howe is desperate to continue his work at the club and his family are settled on Tyneside.
“The pair are still working on building a productive working relationship but, with the transfer window shut until January, significant tension is unlikely to rise again over the next few months (if at all).”
Newcastle United need to improve before the January transfer window
Between Howe and Mitchell, it is the former who would surely be more likely to leave Newcastle United. After all, Mitchell has only just arrived.
That is why it is encouraging to read that there have been fresh talks and that Howe is very eager to continue being Newcastle United manager, with his family settled in the area. Interestingly, it has also been reported that Howe does not want to be England manager right now.
With all of his attention on the Newcastle job, Howe needs to ensure his team improves massively before the January transfer window opens. The Magpies need to put themselves in a position where they are not reliant on new faces arriving, which could ultimately result in more unrest behind the scenes.
Howe and Mitchell are going to work with each other, and PIF are desperate for them to succeed together at Newcastle. However, their relationship will be put under a spotlight again if there are still major issues with the Magpies’ performances come the start of 2025.
Hopefully Newcastle can find a solution to their recent problems very soon, while Howe and Mitchell can focus on going about their own business in a way that helps the other.
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