No concerns at St James’ despite slow progress on major deals
NEXT MONTH SHOULD SEE BUSINESS PICK UP FOR CLUB
NEWCASTLE chiefs are unfazed by the club’s start to the summer, with progress being made off the pitch even if negotiations and deals for new recruits are taking time.
Co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi said on social media last week that ‘patience is a virtue’ and with transfer sagas concerning top targets Hugo Ekitike and Sven Botman rumbling on, fans must be prepared to wait.
There is plenty of trust in the new board and fans are simply happy to see the club showing ambition and being active in the transfer window.
While the Magpies have spectacularly wealthy owners, making the changes to transform a club that has limped along for years into one capable of pushing for a place in the upper reaches of the Premier League is not going to be done overnight.
Take for example the club’s pursuit of Botman.
The Dutch centre-back has been made an excellent offer by the Magpies but continues to mull over his next move, with Italian champions AC Milan still effectively still in the race to sign him.
At some stage Lille will want a deal to be wrapped up as they need sufficient time to land a replacement but until then, the Magpies and the French side will have to wait. They have only so much control in this situation.
United have a list of back-up options in place, and while only Matt Targett has been signed so far on a permanent basis from Aston Villa, that doesn’t mean work is not going on behind the scenes.
While the construction workers are working away at the club’s soonto-be-revamped Benton base, The Chronicle understands that the small outbuilding where the scouts have spent the last few years compiling a list of targets is still in full operation.
United are prepared for every possibility this summer and have the funds ready to go to make deals happen.
In any case, while deals are being done in June, it is July that is expected to be the key month for Newcastle United this summer. It doesn’t mean further transfers won’t be done in the remaining days of this month, but the bulk of the work is expected in July.
Eddie Howe will soon be back from holiday and expected that progress might not be as easy as those outside the club might expect.
Newcastle have had new owners since October when Mike Ashley finally left the building and handed the keys to Amanda Staveley and the Middle East-backed consortium.
But the Newcastle project is just eight months old – they hasn’t been enough progress yet to encourage players capable of super-charging further progress to join.
Howe has a plan to improve the squad he inherited with several new faces that will help plot Newcastle’s journey from relegation battlers into a top-10 side for the 2022/23 season.
The former Bournemouth boss was eager to ensure the squad did not lose identity hence the new deals for academy graduates Sean Longstaff and Paul Dummett earlier this year.
With Botman taking his time to make a decision, the club have been offered a number of alternative players by agents who know they are waiting on the Dutchman.
But Howe’s position, which is backed by new sporting director Dan Ashworth, is that it is pointless to bring in players for the sake of it. The skillset and character of the player has to be right for the project.
Newcastle got the job done with a clutch of crucial additions in January despite difficult conditions. While there has been change, the circumstances are not so dissimilar now.
project, despite the Magpies being in the relegation zone at the time.
The issue in January was Lille’s refusal to sell and although the French side are more open to doing business this summer, negotiations have been far from straightforward.
Throw in rival interest from Serie A champions Milan, who will play in the Champions League next season, and it is easy to see why this has been a complicated pursuit.
Botman may be away but the defender is still in regular contact with his representatives and does not appear to be panicking by any means, posting a picture on social media with the caption: ‘RELAXMODE’.
This could yet be an important week or so in the saga and Newcastle’s move for Reims striker Hugo Ekitike.
The teenage striker was another
January target for United, who have moved to sign him for around £30m this summer.