Paul Mitchell has left Eddie Howe a parting gift at Newcastle United, he may use it sooner than expected

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Paul Mitchell is heading to the Newcastle United exit door but he will be leaving an exciting parting gift for Eddie Howe.

Newcastle United dropped the bombshell announcement on Tuesday that sporting director Paul Mitchell will be leaving the club less than a year after taking up the role.

Chief executive Darren Eales is also leaving, with the departures set to spark a major boardroom reshuffle at St. James’ Park.

Eddie Howe is likely to be a big beneficiary, with the Newcastle manager reportedly set to get more transfer power again alongside head of recruitment Steve Nickson.

Due to PSR restrictions limiting Newcastle in the transfer market over the last 18 months, Mitchell has only made five signings at the club.

Yet, his final one, Antonio Cordero, could prove to be a fantastic parting gift from Mitchell that Howe utilises sooner than anticipated.

• Who is Antonio Cordero? Meet the exciting Spanish teenager Newcastle United have signed on a free transfer

Antonio Cordero is set to sign for Newcastle United this summer

Though not yet officially confirmed by the club, it’s largely expected that Newcastle will sign Cordero this summer when his contract with Malaga expires.

Mitchell beat out the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, who are reportedly still trying to hijack the deal, to the signing of the exciting Spanish winger.

Cordero is still just 18 but has established himself as a regular in the Malaga starting XI this season, with 39 appearances for the La Liga 2 side.

Despite his tender years, the winger was trusted with a vital penalty in a match against Granada towards the end of the season, scoring to earn the 1-0 win.

Cordero’s composure earned high praise from the Spanish media, with Merchan en Directo handing him a 9/10 rating and writing: “Took responsibility for the penalty.

“He was the Malaga player who caused the most danger to Diego Mariño’s goal. He wasn’t at his best in the aiming exercise, but he did show composure and quality to finish the penalty that gave Málaga CF the victory.

“He left La Rosaleda to a standing ovation. Granada, one of his favourite rivals. He scored at Los Carmenes and today he did it again at La Rosaleda.”

Though a signing for the future, Cordero may be used sooner than expected by Howe.

Newcastle United yet to make Cordero decision

It was reported and largely assumed that Cordero would head straight back out the door after arriving in Newcastle on a loan deal.

Even Dutch giants Ajax have been linked with Cordero, which shows just how highly rated he is throughout the game and what a coup the signing could be.

However, recent reports from The Athletic’s Guillermo Rai claim that Newcastle have not yet made a decision on Cordero’s future.

It would make sense for Howe to at least run the rule over the Spaniard during pre-season and get a good impression of his talents.

Then, who knows? Should Cordero impress in a friendly, he might even get the nod to stick around and be in the first team squad.

Newcastle are looking for a new winger in the transfer window but if it turns out they’ve already signed one who’s good enough, why not save the money instead?