There has been a dramatic fallout to Newcastle United’s woeful summer transfer window, but now Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell are seeing eye to eye.
The Magpies failed to make any major signings this summer, with Alan Shearer describing Newcastle’s transfer window as a failure.
It was exactly that, with Newcastle’s move to sign Marc Guehi collapsing. Crystal Palace’s £75million asking price proved to be too much, with the Magpies walking away and not leaving themselves enough time to secure an alternative.
In the aftermath, Paul Mitchell conducted an interview to clear the air. In truth, all he really did was divert the blame away from himself.
Mitchell was branded ‘stupid’ for his comments, while the likes of Amanda Staveley and Dan Ashworth were upset by what he said about Newcastle’s previous transfer strategy.
Howe and Mitchell to work together on Newcastle’s January transfer plans
There has clearly been tension behind the scenes at St James’ Park, and Mitchell has not helped himself with the comments he made after failing to get the Guehi deal over the line. While he was right not to sign someone for the sake of it, he massively failed to improve Eddie Howe‘s squad.
That makes Howe’s job more difficult, and a new report has detailed what the relationship is currently like between the Newcastle United manager and the sporting director.
According to the Telegraph, Howe and Mitchell are both committed to working together and are going to collectively identify January targets in the coming weeks.
Collaboration is key at Newcastle
There has been a sense of unrest at Newcastle United over the past couple of months, and it has been massively concerning. And it has come at a time when Eddie Howe is being touted as the next England manager.
The Magpies need to keep Howe happy, and Mitchell has not helped in that regard by failing to make any major summer signings.
But there appears to be a truce between the head coach and the sporting director, as they aim to work together to get Newcastle United where they need to be.
Howe and Mitchell need to be collaborating, and that is what they are going to do ahead of the January transfer window. Collectively, they will identify what Newcastle need and who could fill those roles.
Then it will be up to Mitchell to get the deals done, which proved to be an issue in the summer.
Hopefully January is more fruitful for the Magpies, with Howe and Mitchell working together to get the best out of each other to the benefit of Newcastle United.
What Newcastle United need in January
The immediate task in January is to address the priorities that they failed to address in the summer.
The pursuit of a centre-back could take centre stage once more, with Newcastle needing a long-term successor to Fabian Schar. However, the need for a centre-back might be a little less urgent if Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles are fit once again.
Toon fans will also be keen to see a winger targeted, as that was the biggest priority for a lot of supporters heading into the summer transfer window.
Elsewhere, Newcastle tried and failed to bring James Trafford to the club in the summer, so it would not be a shock if that deal was reignited.
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