What Newcastle officials are planning to do this week ahead of ‘substantial’ recruitment drive

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Paul Mitchell is very much getting his feet under the table as Newcastle United’s new sporting director.

The new Toon official was spotted meeting Eddie Howe’s players last week, as they reported for the start of pre-season.

Now they are all off to Germany, with Newcastle United set to train at Adidas HQ this week. The players flew to Germany on Monday, with Garang Kuol included in the Magpies’ squad for the trip.

While Eddie Howe will not have a full squad available, it will be an early chance for him to put his players through their paces ahead of what is a massively important campaign.

As for Mitchell, he too will have an important job over in Germany.

Newcastle set for transfer meetings this week

That is according to iNews, who report that Newcastle will be holding recruitment meetings while they are out in Germany this week.

iNews add that there will be what is described as a ‘substantial’ recruitment drive this summer, with the Magpies aiming to sign a centre-back, a winger and a striker before the transfer window closes on August 30th.

They also report that due to Paul Mitchell’s connections across Europe, they are looking at signing players from further afield from the likes of France and Germany.

Newcastle may need to convince Eddie Howe to stay

It is going to be a challenging first summer as sporting director for Mitchell.

His vision should begin to take place this week, with Mitchell being given greater control over Newcastle’s recruitment than what Dan Ashworth had when he was sporting director.

That will create a different dynamic for Newcastle, while it will give Mitchell an immediate chance to show Howe that he means business. He will be tasked with providing Howe with the players he wants and needs, and that could not be more important right now.

That is because Howe is attracting interest from England. The Toon boss is being linked with replacing Gareth Southgate, which has to be an appealing prospect.

It remains to be seen whether or not he will be keen, but Newcastle have the chance to help him make up his mind by backing him in the transfer market. That should begin to take place this week, with meetings set to go down at Adidas HQ as the players continue their pre-season preparations.