For the second summer in a row, Newcastle United are enduring a frustrating summer transfer window and Eddie Howe is restless.
Geordie Boot Boys have been told that Howe was frustrated Newcastle were rejected by Joao Pedro, who confirmed his move to Chelsea on Wednesday.
Owners PIF have spent almost £500million at Newcastle but the spending has stalled in recent transfer windows. It has been two years since Newcastle signed a first-team player, with PIF unable to splash the cash last season due to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
While Newcastle’s PSR position is much stronger now, Howe has seen top targets go elsewhere. Pedro and Liam Delap joined Chelsea, while Dean Huijsen opted for Real Madrid after leaving Bournemouth.
Newcastle also pulled out of a deal for Bryan Mbeumo, as they deemed the Brentford forward too expensive.
With that in mind, here’s an update on the feeling behind the scenes.
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Eddie Howe restless but Newcastle United remain relaxed
According to The Athletic, the Newcastle United manager is “restless” for additions, with pre-season set to start next week.
This comes despite claims that Howe was remaining calm despite Newcastle’s lack of action.
He’d prefer to have added to the Newcastle United squad before preparations for the 2025/26 season get underway, although they are now up against it.
Still, the expectation behind the scenes at St James’ Park is that the transfer market will start to “heat up” when players start returning to their clubs for pre-season.
Players are due to return to the Newcastle United training ground on Monday July 7, 2025. The first game of pre-season comes away at Celtic on Saturday July 19.
PIF’s major concern during Newcastle United’s summer transfer window
The PSR rules are a moving beast.
They do not allow clubs to lose more than £105million over a three-year accountancy period.
With that in mind, the fact Newcastle don’t have any immediate PSR concerns is only a slight boost.
Clearly, it’s better to be in a strong position than not, but the nature of the rules mean clubs have to remain measured in their spending.
PIF know that spending big on transfers could force Newcastle to sell players further down the line, so it’s not as if there’s suddenly a clean slate.
It’s not an ideal situation but the hope is that Newcastle can still extract value for money during the transfer window.
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