Howe wants experience but says balance is key
EDDIE Howe has admitted that he would ideally like to bring in more Premier League experience this summer – but the Newcastle head coach also knows he must build for the club’s long-term future.
Bruno Guimaraes may have been Newcastle’s most expensive January addition, but the 24-year-old was the only mid-season arrival who had not previously sampled life in the Premier League. Given the precarious situation relegation-threatened Newcastle were in, Howe wanted to supplement a signing like Guimaraes with players who could hit immediately hit the ground running.
United signed Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Dan Burn and Matt Targett, who had made a combined 470 Premier League appearances before joining the Magpies, and the quartet all slotted in seamlessly as Howe’s side pulled away from danger.
Howe’s immediate focus is on helping these players finish the season as strongly as possible, but club bosses are already busy planning ahead for a summer of evolution, rather than revolution.
Newcastle remain interested in Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard, who will soon be a free agent, but younger players from abroad will also be assessed.
“I’m open-minded,” head coach Howe said. “It’s the right player for the position. You do have to have an eye on the future.
“I don’t think you can be blind to the fact that if you have a squad that’s at the wrong age then you can give yourself problems one, two, three years down the line. We don’t want to put ourselves in that position.
“Yes, ideally, you want experience, players that, ideally, have played in the Premier League but Bruno, who’s none of those things, was the right signing for that position at that time.
“We will take it on an individual basis while acknowledging the fact the club will always have a future and we have to protect that.” The majority of
Newcastle’s current squad are aged 28 and older and Martin Dubravka (33), Federico Fernandez (33), Dwight Gayle (32), Ciaran Clark (32), Matt Ritchie (32), Kieran Trippier (31), Karl Darlow (31), Jonjo Shelvey (30), Chris Wood (30), Mark Gillespie (30), Paul Dummett (30), Fabian Schar (30), Jeff Hendrick (30) and Callum Wilson (30) are just some of the players on the books who are in their thirties.
Dummett and Schar have been handed new deals by Howe, but some of these veterans could move on this summer at a time when Newcastle’s wage-to-turnover ratio – an important metric for assessing the sustainability of football clubs – is already around 65%.
One player who will be staying is Wilson, whom Howe hopes will be “like a new signing” after the striker recovered from a calf injury after more than four months out.
The England striker has played in little more than half of United’s league games since joining from Bournemouth in 2020 due to injury.
Despite not playing since December, he is still the club’s top scorer with six goals.
Despite the £20m man’s injury problems, Howe remains convinced that the club can keep Wilson – who could return against Manchester City in today’s 4.30pm kick-off – fit and get him firing again next season.
Howe said: “I would say that’s going to be a challenge for him and for us to find a way of working that keeps him in prime physical condition.
“Absolutely, he can. The way he’s come back in the couple of days training we’ve seen already, it has been pleasantly surprising how physically good he’s looked.
“But that’s going to be a lot of work from all of us connected with the coaching team, the medical staff and the sports science staff to find a way to keep all of our players fit throughout the season.
“A big part of that is a very good preseason because players need a good load behind them to make them resilient and strong.
“You have to get the balance right because if you go too high or too low then you risk injuries both ways so trying to find that optimum spot goes a long way for your whole squad trying to remain fit through a tough Premier League campaign.”