Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is being backed by the club’s Chief Executive Officer Darren Eales in his dispute with sporting director Paul Mitchell, according to the Sun.
The former AS Monaco sporting director replaced Dan Ashworth at St James Park in July and has clashed with the Magpies boss over transfers and the team’s style of play.
Mitchell criticised the recruitment and scouting departments of Newcastle in an interview published this week, which has inflamed the existing tensions between him and Howe.
The new sporting director and manager had issues from the get-go, and a meeting between Mitchell and the players also went badly, with the coaching staff also expressing concerns over his combative approach to things.
Newcastle failed to make major recruitment in the summer, missing out on two key targets Howe wanted – Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi and a right winger.
They ended up signing Lewis Hall permanently, landing William Osula and Odysseas Vlachodimos while Lloyd Kelly and John Ruddy joined for free.
Mitchell has blamed Howe for his inflexibility over targets, with the Newcastle boss only wanting the players he had in mind and no one else.
The Magpies missed out on European football entirely for this season after FA Cup winners Manchester United picked up the Europa League spot and the final continental ticket for Premier League clubs, and their manager is desperate to return to the top-four this term after the success of 2022-23.
However, he has not been backed by Mitchell, and things could escalate between the duo going forward.
With Eales also on the side of the manager, it remains to be seen whether the key trio would be able to work together for long, and one of them could be leaving Newcastle in the coming months if nothing changes.
