What Eddie Howe was told in private meeting led by Darren Eales at Newcastle

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Eddie Howe is working with a new sporting director at Newcastle United, but will still have a say when it comes to recruitment.

Following Dan Ashworth’s move to Manchester United, Newcastle United have brought in Paul Mitchell as their new sporting director.

Mitchell impressed Newcastle fans during his first interview, and his impressive CV suggests that Newcastle have made a brilliant appointment.

His arrival at St James’ Park has coincided with Amanda Staveley leaving and the England job becoming available. Eddie Howe is one of the FA’s top targets, which has resulted in speculation that he could leave Newcastle United.

Howe spoke to the media for the first time this summer on Friday, and made it clear that he would be staying with the Magpies – but only if he continued to feel supported by those above him.

Eddie Howe given reassurances during Newcastle United meeting

Now it would appear that he has been given those assurances after holding talks with the club.

That is according to the Telegraph, who report that Howe has been told in a meeting led by CEO Darren Eales that he will still have a say over Newcastle’s recruitment.

They report that Howe was fearful of just being given new players by Paul Mitchell that he did not necessarily want, but that will not be the case.

The Telegraph state that Howe will work alongside Mitchell, who will provide the manager with a shortlist of possible signings for him to assess.

Howe and Mitchell must work together at Newcastle

It will be a collaborative effort, which is exactly how it should be.

Howe is the one who will be working with the players on a day to day basis. He absolutely should have a say in recruitment. And given how much he asks of his players tactically, it would be counterproductive to just give him players who he did not necessarily think he could work with.

But it should be a collective effort. Mitchell has worked wonders in recruitment over the years, and clearly has an eye for talent. He will be able to identify the right players for Howe, before the Newcastle boss feeds back on who he would like to arrive at St James’ Park.

It is worrying that Howe has had to be given these reassurances. You would have assumed that this would have been spelled out to him when Mitchell arrived.

When he was appointed sporting director, it was reported that Mitchell would have more control over Newcastle’s recruitment than Ashworth did. That will be the case, but it will not be total control. There will still be input from Howe, which will hopefully help Newcastle United’s quest to keep him away from the England job.

With Mitchell and Howe set to work together, business needs to pick up. There have not been any major additions to the squad this summer, with Newcastle boasting a £100million transfer budget.

The Magpies are looking to sign a winger, a striker and a centre-back, but are in a race against time to get any new signings through the door before the pre-season trip to Japan.