The pressure is on Paul Mitchell at Newcastle already after Eddie Howe makes transfer demand

Add as preferred source on Google

Paul Mitchell is already facing a pivotal week as Newcastle United sporting director.

He arrived at St James’ Park as Dan Ashworth’s successor on July 4th, and is yet to really flex his muscles in the transfer market.

When he first joined the club, it was reported that Mitchell would have greater control over Newcastle’s transfers than Ashworth, while Eddie Howe has admitted that transfer control is still something they are ‘working on’ behind the scenes.

There has been a real change of dynamic for Howe in recent weeks. He has got a new sporting director, while he is no longer working alongside Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi. Then there is the England job in the background, which has made the situation even more tense.

But Howe’s priority is Newcastle United and preparing for the new season. That will also be Mitchell‘s priority, and he may be feeling the pressure over the next few days.

Eddie Howe’s transfer demand this week

The Magpies are back from their trip to Adidas HQ in Germany. It looked like a great camp for warm weather training and team bonding, and now Newcastle prepare to travel the globe again.

They head to Hull on Saturday for a friendly, before jetting off to Japan. Newcastle are off to the Far East, for a trip that will be important physically as well as commercially.

It is the focal point of Newcastle’s pre-season preparations, and it has been reported that Eddie Howe would like a couple of signings before the squad head to Japan.

Newcastle are in a race against time

That leaves Mitchell with less than a week to provide Howe with what he wants. It is very much a race against time for the Newcastle United sporting director.

This now becomes a pivotal week, as Howe would really benefit from getting at least one new signing through the door. If not, it is going to take whoever arrives longer to integrate, to the point that they might not be ready for the start of the 2024/25 season.

Every second counts, and Newcastle are yet to really make a splash this summer. It has been reported that Newcastle have a £100million transfer budget, but it is unclear who it will be spent on. A right winger and a centre-back are seen as priorities, while a striker is suddenly even more essential following Callum Wilson’s latest injury.

The clock is ticking, as the pressure mounts on Mitchell. While Newcastle should not rush their transfer business, Mitchell’s relationship with Howe will be severely strengthened if he can provide the calibre of player that he wants before the Magpies jet off for Japan.

Everything appears to be being kept under wraps right now, but Howe will have his fingers crossed that Newcastle’s summer transfer business bursts into life over the next few days. If not, the only new faces travelling with the club to Japan will be those returning from international duty.