Eddie Howe has addressed talk of players leaving Newcastle United during this summer’s transfer window.
Eddie Howe admits players will leave Newcastle United this summer – but expects both Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes to stay put.
Pressure to comply with Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) has led to speculation over who could depart in the coming months. Isak and Guimaraes – the Magpies’ most prized assets – have been linked with the likes of Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
But when asked about the assumption that those bigger clubs can lure the pair away from St James’ Park, Howe replied: “I don’t know why that is so relevant or in the news as much as it is. I think for us we’re looking to build a squad and a really successful team and to do that, we don’t want to sell our best players. That is hugely important for us, it will knock us back some considerable distance because we would have to start again.
“There is no weakness in the club to say we are going to sell anyone. But, of course, Financial Fair Play is there and we’ll have to comply like everyone else. That’s why I’ve said this summer is going to be a very difficult thing to predict. But there is no desire from anyone at the football club to sell our best players.”
In recent seasons, Aston Villa sold Jack Grealish to Man City for £100million while last year Declan Rice left West Ham United to join Arsenal in a £105m deal. It forced Villa and West Ham to rebuild, something Howe isn’t keen on replicating this summer.
Indeed, Howe said: “Yeah, I do [expect them to stay], I’m planning for them to be here. Yeah, all my planning is with them in the squad.” He later said: “There’ll have to be movement out. But I think there’s no specific bracket or brand or type of player, however you want to look at it, that’s assigned to that.” The 46-year-old also said: “It is because you’re going through a process of rebuild and that is very difficult to do at this level because you have to bring somebody in who is unproven and you have to build them up to the level of the players you started with,” Howe added.
“Sometimes that can take a year, two years, so we don’t want to end up in that position. We’re fiercely determined to grow on this year, we’ve had a really good season in tough conditions and if we’ve got our full squad back, which we hope we will have for pre-season, then I think we’ll be a really good team.”
Although Howe strongly warned off potential suitors in regards to Isak and Guimaraes, the United boss was less convincing when addressing Callum Wilson’s future.
The 32-year-old is out-of-contract in 2025 and while he continues to be hampered by injuries, he remains lethal in front of goal having recently overtaken Peter Beardsley to become the club’s second all-time Premier League record goalscorer (.
Howe said after Wilson’s goal at Burnley “he’ll do everything” he can to keep the England striker but admits a different viewpoint could be taken.
“There is always a different viewpoint,” said the former Bournemouth manager. “I have one as a manager trying to win football matches and the club have to be sustainable and comply with the rules and financial fair play. So we work together as a team on that.
“There is no part of me that will ever go against the club, and there is no part of the club who would willingly go against me if they didn’t think it was the right thing for the long term future. We are very much a team and the relationship, the dynamics of that have worked well since I have been here. We are wanting to push the team as far as we can obviously within the rules.”
Eddie Howe has addressed talk of players leaving Newcastle United during this summer’s transfer window.
Eddie Howe admits players will leave Newcastle United this summer – but expects both Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes to stay put.
Pressure to comply with Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) has led to speculation over who could depart in the coming months. Isak and Guimaraes – the Magpies’ most prized assets – have been linked with the likes of Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
But when asked about the assumption that those bigger clubs can lure the pair away from St James’ Park, Howe replied: “I don’t know why that is so relevant or in the news as much as it is. I think for us we’re looking to build a squad and a really successful team and to do that, we don’t want to sell our best players. That is hugely important for us, it will knock us back some considerable distance because we would have to start again.
“There is no weakness in the club to say we are going to sell anyone. But, of course, Financial Fair Play is there and we’ll have to comply like everyone else. That’s why I’ve said this summer is going to be a very difficult thing to predict. But there is no desire from anyone at the football club to sell our best players.”
In recent seasons, Aston Villa sold Jack Grealish to Man City for £100million while last year Declan Rice left West Ham United to join Arsenal in a £105m deal. It forced Villa and West Ham to rebuild, something Howe isn’t keen on replicating this summer.
Indeed, Howe said: “Yeah, I do [expect them to stay], I’m planning for them to be here. Yeah, all my planning is with them in the squad.” He later said: “There’ll have to be movement out. But I think there’s no specific bracket or brand or type of player, however you want to look at it, that’s assigned to that.” The 46-year-old also said: “It is because you’re going through a process of rebuild and that is very difficult to do at this level because you have to bring somebody in who is unproven and you have to build them up to the level of the players you started with,” Howe added.
“Sometimes that can take a year, two years, so we don’t want to end up in that position. We’re fiercely determined to grow on this year, we’ve had a really good season in tough conditions and if we’ve got our full squad back, which we hope we will have for pre-season, then I think we’ll be a really good team.”
Although Howe strongly warned off potential suitors in regards to Isak and Guimaraes, the United boss was less convincing when addressing Callum Wilson’s future.
The 32-year-old is out-of-contract in 2025 and while he continues to be hampered by injuries, he remains lethal in front of goal having recently overtaken Peter Beardsley to become the club’s second all-time Premier League record goalscorer (.
Howe said after Wilson’s goal at Burnley “he’ll do everything” he can to keep the England striker but admits a different viewpoint could be taken.
“There is always a different viewpoint,” said the former Bournemouth manager. “I have one as a manager trying to win football matches and the club have to be sustainable and comply with the rules and financial fair play. So we work together as a team on that.
“There is no part of me that will ever go against the club, and there is no part of the club who would willingly go against me if they didn’t think it was the right thing for the long term future. We are very much a team and the relationship, the dynamics of that have worked well since I have been here. We are wanting to push the team as far as we can obviously within the rules.”
