Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has responded to transfer links with world superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
Speculative reports from across Europe have suggested St. James’ Park could be the ideal next destination for the Portuguese and Brazilian, should they leave Saudi Professional League club Al-Nassr and Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the current season.
However, Howe has poured cold water on the idea of either of these players, or those of a similar profile, ending up at Newcastle — especially when the Magpies have built their success, a charge to the Champions League places, with a totally different strategy.
“That kind of speculation has been there from day one since the takeover, really,” said Howe, referencing the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia majority buyout.
“Naturally everyone has then assumed the biggest names in world football will be going to Newcastle. Now we’ve not recruited that way. I think financially, we can’t recruit that way at the moment, but also we have to bring the right people and the right players into the group.
“I will say the transfer market is such a complex decision, you can’t just pick a name and bring them in. There’s got to be a lot of thought going into what we’re doing both financially and looking at the players.”
Newcastle’s transfer approach could not be further from the fantasy football many predicted following the takeover in October 2021.
Big names and even bigger egos have been shunned, with not a penny wasted in the market. Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Bruno Guimaraes signalled the start of the revolution while Alexander Isak has proven the standout business of the 2022/23 season.
Those deals — with a few choice others, none of which have broken the bank or Financial Fair Play rules — have taken Howe’s side from fears of the Championship, England’s second tier, to within touching distance of the Champions League.
Swede Isak, a club record buy, has been key to that, especially in the second half of the season. His form, though, combined with that of 15-goal top scorer Callum Wilson, has given Howe plenty of food for thought. Up to now, it’s only ever been Isak or Wilson, despite their combined 25 goals this season, but he might just change his thinking ahead of the visit of title-chasing Arsenal on Sunday.
Howe said: “It’s not the first time the temptation has been there to start them together. When you’re analyzing the next game you have to look at your opponents, yourselves, and pick the best team to win the game. That is no different. I have thought lots of different scenarios.
“My end decision has to be — what does the team need? Not what Callum or Alex needs. It is possible the team needs Callum and Alex, but that’s always been the case. It’s up to me to make the right call.”
Wilson is used to being Newcastle’s leading man up-top, but has been forced to play second fiddle largely to Isak, of late. Howe thinks that the rivalry has been healthy for both players.
He said: “I think they’ve been looking at each other and that I think there’s a natural respect.
“I think there’s a healthy focus on, you know, in training where you know that they’re competitive. They want to win if we’re doing a finishing drill, they both want to win whatever the exercise is, but that’s not just exclusive to them. That’s right through the squad, you’ll have wide players that want to be the best in their position. So that’s really healthy and that’s what we want.
“As we progress as a team we want that competition that we have in that area in all positions.”
Newcastle scored the fourth-highest number of goals in a month for a Premier League team in April, with Wilson bagging eight of those.
While Howe was delighted with that sequence, he was far from surprised.
“Statistically we were really high in terms of expected goals. We weren’t delivering them. I think (there were) countless questions in media interviews about why and what you’re going to change. And sometimes if you know you’re performing well — not in terms of goal scoring, but goal creation, or potential goal creation — then I think you just have to be patient and stick to your beliefs and hope that it will come good,” said the head coach.
“Now, if we weren’t producing those figures, then maybe we would have to look to change some of our ideas. But we believe in how we work. So I’d only drastically change something if I felt it was in desperate need of change. This season I think the team’s functioned really well.”